


The Accident

by maipigen



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Aftermath, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anger, Angst, Bad Parents, Child Abuse, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Loyalty, Unrequited Love, Violence, mental issues, so much angst really, someone thinks so anyhow, switching point of views from chapter to chapter, tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 22:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 92,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12397770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maipigen/pseuds/maipigen
Summary: Starts out preseries and then goes into season 1. An accident changes the lives of the Fab 4 before Lily slept with Aaron, how will it affect V's future?





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again... My second oldest VM fic. It could use a touch up and some things in the later chapters are way over the top, but it holds a special place in my heart and I hope it will please you :D   
> Forgive the grammar issues that I haven't caught - I've searched high and low for a beta, without any luck so far.   
> ENJOY this madness :D

THE ACCIDENT

**Intro**

  


"No…"

  


The word escaped her lips before her mind even understood she'd wanted to say something. She blinked and shook her head in a firm manner from side to side. "No," she repeated, a bit louder this time.

  


The doctor looked concerned down at her. _Down? Oh, I'm on the floor now, how did_ that _happen_?

  


"Miss Mars," the annoyingly solemn doctor said again. "I've already called your father and he's on his way now. Until he arrives, it would be good for you to allow me to check out your injuries."

  


"I'm fine. It's _them_ I'm worried about and after what you've just told me, I don't know what you're standing here talking and wasting time with me for."

  


The doctor sighed and eyed the young girl, almost woman in front of him. The look in her eyes was blank, but the seasoned doctor could easily see by the clenched jaw that it was taking all that the teenager had to keep her emotions from bubbling over.

There were numerous blood spatters on her face and a lot more blood on what he could see of her bare arms. She was holding herself around her midriff, carrying a jacket, which definitely didn't belong to her.

  


If he wasn't such a good doctor, he would most likely have ignored the teenager's protective stance and her pained expression. He would've walked away to concentrate on the three other injured she'd arrived with. She'd driven to the hospital in a stolen car from the crash site and bellowed for help, uncaring about her own state.

  


But, it just so happened, that he was a _great_ doctor and knew that at the moment, there were several other talented people working on the other teenagers. So he decided that he wasn't about to be scared away from a mere child and stated with a firm tone. "I need to check you out Miss Mars. Your friends, although severely injured, are in fact receiving the best care possible and you're _not_. Now, come along. You've been pacing these halls for over an hour now. Lord only knows what kind of state your body is really in once the shock fades."

  


The girl in front of him straightened up an inch and sneered icily, "Doctor, I'm fine – Let me…"

  


They were interrupted by a frantic call from a quickly arriving male. "Veronica!"

  


Veronica Mars closed her eyes for a brief second. Then she turned toward her approaching father. "Dad, I'm fine. I promise. I was just making sure that the doctor took good care of Lily, Duncan and Logan, which he assures me he did. _Right_?"

  


Somehow, the tone in Veronica's voice forced the much older doctor to stand straight and nod in agreement. "Yes Sheriff Mars." All thoughts of forcing the ill-tempered Sheriff's daughter to undergo a physical exam fled the doctor's mind.

  


Sheriff Keith Mars took a deep, _deep_ breath and enveloped his only child in his arms but quickly released her, when Veronica gently resisted. "I'm okay Dad – go talk to the doctors. Maybe they'll be more forthcoming with you around. Also, I couldn't get a hold of the Kane's, but Logan's mom is on her way. Mr. Echolls in on location somewhere and…Dad I think I'm facing charges…"

  


Keith's concern was replaced with confusion and he furrowed his brow, "What for, Honey? After what I saw at the scene of the accident, it was the other cars that resulted in the crash and I know you kids weren't drinking. At least you and Duncan weren't." The realistic father amended and smiled sheepishly.

  


Veronica shook her head; the pounding in her head was almost unbearable. "No, it's not that Dad. I forced some guy to give me his car, so I could drive them all to the hospital. It would've taken too long to wait for an ambulance. Logan…there was _so_ much blood Dad."

  


Veronica blinked away the burning tears and turned away slowly. Keith gently stroked her hair and then winced when he realized it was full of blood. "Are you okay, Honey?"

  


Veronica didn't respond and Keith sighed before he turned to the still waiting doctor to get the rest of the information.

  


Veronica didn't hear her dad walk a bit away to speak to the other male. She was too caught up in a frantic replay of the night's accident.

  


Lily, Logan, Duncan and her had been leaving one of Shelley Pomroy's infamous parties. They'd been massively bored. On their way home they'd all been goofing around as always when, suddenly another car had sped past them with music blazing out the windows.

  


"That looks like fun," Lily stated and beamed at the driving Veronica, who rolled her eyes. "What?" she asked and sighed. "You're no fun Mars – next thing I know you're gonna escort us all home so we can get to school on time tomorrow. I swear even Celeste knows how to party harder than you do."

  


Veronica laughed and shook her head in denial. Duncan smiled too and kissed her cheek. Logan's deep chuckle had distracted her for a split second and she'd glanced up in the rearview mirror where his dark eyes had met hers with a smile.

  


"Ronnie, you know I love you, but you are so innocent. if it wasn't for you we'd still be at Pomroy's party."

  


Veronica shook her head again, but before she could respond, Lily had stuck her head out the window and screamed after the still visible car in front of them.

  


"Whoo hoo!"

  


Duncan yelled at his sister to calm down and Veronica caught a glimpse of a smirking Logan, before suddenly she saw another car race by and in the next moment, everything went terribly wrong. She'd woken up with the car flipped on to its side.

  


Lily still had half her body out the window. Duncan looked pale like a corpse lying beside her. He'd been trying to pull his sister in. Veronica blinked and her heartbeat raced with fear when they didn't move. No one but her was moving.

  


"Oh my God," she whimpered and managed to get out of her seatbelt and opened the car door. She crawled over to Lily's side. The Kane heir was already covered in blood and there were numerous scrapes on her arms and face. It was easy to see that she'd broken at least one arm. "Oh, Lily." Veronica whispered and reached out to find a pulse.

  


She ignored the very real chance that there wouldn't be one because living in a world without her best friend was unthinkable.

  


"Oh my God." A male drunken voice sounded behind her and Veronica didn't even turn around as she demanded that the stranger should call an ambulance.

  


Soon after, another, more familiar and a lot more dear, male voice sounded. It happened just as she found a slow pulse in Lily''s neck, "Argh…shit it hurts."

  


"Logan?" Veronica managed to say and peeked over Lily's still frame.

  


Logan hadn't been wearing a seatbelt and he was lying sprawled around. To her shock, Veronica saw a piece of what looked like some kind of wood stick through his abdomen.

  


" _Don't_ move…I'm gonna get you all out of this, I promise!" Veronica said and was about to turn to yell at the boy from before, when she saw something horrible. Gasoline was dripping from the car. Veronica knew enough to know that it was an explosion waiting to happen. Her body reacted before her mind had come up with a plan.

  


She grabbed Lily and pulled her out of the car as gently as she could, ignoring the part of her that had been taught never to move injured people and risk further damage. She then went back inside to free her boyfriend and his best friend, who was still conscious.

  


Once out of the car, Veronica stumbled with exhaustion, but she beat it down, when she realized that the boy from earlier stood immobile not ten feet away. He hadn't even pulled out his phone yet – all his friends sat in his car looking dumbstruck out at the disaster. It seemed like none of them or the vehicle had gotten hurt in the accident.

  


"It's gonna take too long for the ambulance to get here." Veronica mumbled. She marched over to the car and within minutes, she'd terrorized them enough to leave her the car so she could drive her friends to the hospital.

  


As she'd loaded her unconscious friends inside – _how_ , she still didn't quite know – she'd driven faster than was safe, desperate for help. And as she'd pulled up in front of the hospital, Logan had muttered sadly with a hint of true fear in his voice, "I don't wanna die, Ronnie…"

  


She hadn't gotten a chance to reply before several paramedics were all over them...

  


Now, a long while later, Veronica didn't know if her friends were going to live. Her earlier exhaustion returned when she finally allowed herself to relax.

  


With the exhaustion came a sudden, almost unbearable pain. She moaned softly and touched her belly over Duncan's jacket she still held in her arms.

  


The pain intensified at the touch. Before she knew it, the jacket was lying forgotten on the linoleum floor while Veronica looked down at her stomach. Her following gasp was almost inaudible.

  


_No wonder I'm still covered in fresh blood,_ was the first thing in her mind. The second thought was filled with puzzlement. _Why am I on the floor again_?

  


Mutely, she watched her dad in the now blurry distance straighten up. He'd snapped to attention at the sight of her on the floor. The doctor beside him hurried towards her. Veronica barely noticed, she merely thought one last thing before it all turned dark.

  


_At least Logan's not gonna die alone tonight…_

  


**0o0o0**

  


**TBC…**


	2. Veronica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One Year Later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy people seem interested in the first real VM story I wrote that I kinda ended up liking more than anticipated. :D Thus due to a busy day tomorrow, I'll post today twice. That said, I have made absolutely no corrections in this chapter since my original posting years ago and there will undoubtedly be errors. I promise to go over it when I'm a little less stressed, but if something jumps out to you that you absolutely can't live with then please let me know so I can fix that :D  
> Anyway, enjoy the start of twenty very, very angsty and drama-filled chappies :D

**CHAPTER ONE: VERONICA  
**

**_ One Year Later _ **

The blaring sound of the alarm clock brought Veronica back to the real world and she opened her eyes slowly. "It can't be seven a.m. already," she muttered tiredly and yawned.

As per usual Veronica took a deep preparing breath and swung her legs out the bed as she sat up. A moment later she gritted her teeth as the familiar pain and dizziness flared through her body at the movement. "Work through the pain," she hissed to herself and finally managed to stand up so she could continue getting ready for another day.

Twenty minutes later Veronica entered the kitchen and stopped in mild surprise at the sight in front of her. Her mother, Lianne was up and in the midst of making a big load of pancakes. "Wow," Veronica began and startled her mom so much that she knocked over the bowl of dough. "Lianne Mars is actually up before noon, I'm impressed."

Lianne shrugged the snarky remark away and placed a pancake filled plate in front of her only child. "It's best if you begin eating more Veronica. I've put chocolate into them just like you like." Veronica eyed the food with mild distaste, but took a small bite just to avoid any more mothering from her mom. She swallowed the food down with a mouthful of orange juice and straightened up from her position at the counter. "That was great Lianne, thanks."

The older woman looked down at the almost untouched plate and sighed. "Honey, I really think you should eat a little more. At least let me give you a few bucks to buy a decent lunch at school." Veronica turned around in the doorway and looked up and down her mother's frame with a face devoid of emotion and then said, "I'll manage. Besides I wouldn't want you to spend your alcohol money on me anyhow." With that statement Lianne watched with tear-filled eyes as her once so cheerful child walked out to the sidewalk and waited for her ride.

Five minutes later Lily Kane's modernized car pulled up to the curve and she smiled to Veronica and gestured for her to hurry. Veronica nodded politely to Duncan Kane in his usual spot in the back and slowly got inside the car. "Ready for another year at Crappy McCrap High?" Lily asked with a slight slur to her voice. She didn't look at Veronica while she asked the question; she was digging through her huge purse for a big pair of sunglasses, which would cover most of her face.

After the accident Lily had suffered the most psychical injury due to her being halfway out of the car when the collision happened. A long disfiguring scar ran from her left eyebrow to her collarbone. The doctors thought she'd landed on a stone, which had then cut deep into her skin and throat while the car flipped over and nearly destroying her ability to speak fluently. Lily had gone from being the most beautiful and sought after female at Neptune High to being the poor disfigured billionaire freak with the speaking problem and a limp.

Veronica sighed at the thought and gently reached out and stole the sunglasses from her best friend's face. "You don't need those," she muttered when Lily glared half heartedly. And it was true, despite all her new imperfections, Lily Kane was still beautiful. _I just wish she'd see that a bit more_ , Veronica thought when Lily sighed heavily and restarted the car. "Fine," Lily said hoarsely, "I don't give a crap what people think about me. It's my last year anyway."

Veronica smiled a small smile and looked out the window as they drove excruciatingly slow towards the school. The speed was for her benefit, Veronica knew this. Ever since that night she'd been unable to sit inside a moving car that drove faster than the fastest runner. Lily had discovered her newfound phobia the night Lianne had thrown out her husband in a drunken stupor and Veronica had tried desperately to race after him only to crumble behind the wheel of her car. And forget about actually driving a car. Whenever Veronica got behind the wheel, her breathing escalated and she had to fight off a massive panic attack.

Tearing herself away from her failures, Veronica looked in the rearview mirror and locked eyes with her ex-boyfriend. Duncan's upper lip curled minutely and he quickly looked away. Veronica copied the movement, but not before she'd noticed the bitterness in his gaze _. And if anyone's got the right to be bitter, it's him_. Veronica thought.

Before she could dwell any more on the dark thoughts that were rapidly taking over her mind, Lily finally pulled into the school's parking lot. "Ah, here we are at last," she announced sarcastically and stepped out of the car. Veronica opened her car door and followed suit. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes before Lily had pulled Duncan out on the edge and was lowering him to the ground. "See Donut," Lily stated in a weak imitation of her former self, "Neptune High has barely survived the summer without us. Come on, let's tail ass." She took hold of Duncan's wheelchair and began pushing him towards the school.

Veronica walked slowly beside the siblings in silence – unable to refrain completely from her dark thoughts. Duncan had probably suffered the worst of them all. He'd broken his back and was paralyzed from the waist down. The day he'd discovered his injury, Duncan had wept and cursed everything and everyone – including the driver of his car, Veronica. Duncan's parents had immediately interpreted the whole thing as such that the whole accident was Veronica's fault. At first Duncan had denied it as vehemently as Lily, but as his anger grew, so did his bitterness and he'd somehow convinced himself that he'd still be walking around if Veronica hadn't been driving that night.

Now almost a year after the incident they'd agreed to a civil relationship, but the hurt between the former couple was too much to really heal and they only tried to be courteous to one another because of the love they shared for Lily.

Finally the trio entered the High School and Duncan nodded his thanks to his big sister and used his arms to steer towards his friends. He might be paralyzed and somewhat silent, but Duncan Kane was still a billionaire's son and therefore he didn't lack companionship. Veronica didn't envy him and knew Lily felt the same way.

"Come on, let's see if the moron shows up today," Lily said a moment later and grabbed Veronica's hand and steered her back outside. The two friends scanned the parking lot. "I don't think he's gonna show," Veronica muttered quietly and turned to Lily. "I don't know, I think he might." Lily answered distractedly and traced the scar on her face with her free hand. Then her face lit up a bit and she smirked in satisfaction. "There he is."

Veronica followed Lily's pointing finger and observed in silence as Logan's huge yellow x-terra drove into the parking lot. "I wonder which of his fan girls will reach him first." She said and Lily grinned, "That's easy. It's gonna be Madison, she's always around him these days. Call out to him, will ya? My voice isn't that strong today," Lily explained and gestured wildly to make Logan see them. Veronica smiled to herself and whipped out her cell and texted Logan their exact location. "Honestly sometimes I think you forget to _act_ stupid," Veronica mumbled bemusedly and watched Logan greet the first arrival of his fan club. The next moment he stopped his greeting and took out his phone and a minute later Veronica read his answering text.

 **I'll find you later –if they don't eat my delicious self first off course**.

Veronica chuckled weakly and showed the text to Lily and before long they separated to go to their different classes.

**0o0o0**

Veronica sat down in her third class of the day and began doodling in her notebook. She didn't look up once during the class, because she knew what she'd see; People staring at her with various degrees of discretion. People had taken on the Kane's thoughts; that Veronica was to blame for ruining the lives of the two richest kids in Neptune. _And then there's the whole thing about me publically announcing that my mother slept with Jake Kane_ , Veronica thought and smirked to herself as she remembered that night.

"Hey Veronica?"

An uncharacteristically friendly voice interrupted her internal trip down memory lane and Veronica looked up. Her eyes landed on an equally small female with dark brown locks, which had been spruced up with a bit of blue in the ends. "Hey Mac," Veronica responded quietly and returned to her doodling without a second glance. "I sort of have a favor to ask you." The brunette said a moment later when it became obvious that Veronica had no intention of continuing their conversation. "And," Mac added hastily when Veronica still didn't respond, "it's nothing really, it's just…I'm doing a webpage for a class project and need some great pictures to go with it and someone mentioned that you were a really good photographer."

Hearing this Veronica looked up again and nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. What do you need? And how much will you pay me?" Mac smiled sheepishly and looked away for a second before saying, "Well, I'm not exactly made of money, but I figured I might get you to help me if I let you in on a little secret." Veronica thought it over for a moment and then agreed. "Well," Mac said and leaned forward despite the teacher was looking at her with a warning in his eyes, "I heard before class that Madison and her friends are gonna try to corner Lily Kane in the quad during lunch while some of the other 09'ers distract Logan's attention…"

"Lily can take care of herself," Veronica muttered, but she already knew she would accept the knowledge as payment. Mac smiled briefly and said, "Yeah, but even she can't handle all of them at once. They're probably gonna make fun of her scars and stuff."

Veronica's temper flared and she quickly agreed to meet up with Mac later to discuss the pictures she needed. When the bell rang Veronica shot out of her seat and all but ran down to the quad to find Lily. She was texting to her while she hurried outside. _If Lily gets into a fight people might call the Sheriff and I don't have the strength to act bitchy towards him today_ , Veronica thought and ignored the tug in her heartstrings as her mind tried to wander onto her father.

The next second Veronica got distracted from her thoughts when she ran smack into Cassidy "Beaver" Cassablancas. "Oh, I'm sorry," he shyly mumbled and reached out a hand to help the fallen Veronica to her feet. "I'm fine," she said and ignored the hand. She looked around for Lily and then noticed there were a lot more people present than usual. "What's going on?"

Cassidy smiled his sheepish grin, "There's a new kid duck taped onto the flagpole; Butt naked and all. Some people say he pissed off the PCH'ers."

Veronica sought out the flagpole and sure enough – a tall skinny black kid was taped firmly onto the pole. A crowd of leering people were hovering around him and taking pictures with their cell phones. "Why aren't anyone helping him down?" Veronica asked – for the second time that day she felt an unusual flare of emotion hit her. Cassidy scratched his nose awkwardly and wouldn't meet her eyes when he replied, "Because…you know, of the PCH'ers and stuff. Besides I don't wanna ruin my reputation even more by actually being the buzz kill, who cuts him down."

Veronica sighed and scanned the area. Duncan sat in his wheelchair out in the edge of the crowd with a small uncomfortable smile on his lips. _To cowardly to use your influence as always_ , Veronica thought coldly and looked away in search of Lily and Logan. Neither was present and she hesitated briefly. Then she sneered angrily when an 09'er she didn't know jumped up besides the flagpole kid and took a picture with both of them on it. "Fine," Veronica muttered and began pushing her way through the people, "it's not like my reputation can get worse."

A moment later she reached the flagpole and demanded with ice in her voice, "Move." The 09'er smiled mockingly and ignored her. As a result Veronica bent down and took out her pocketknife, snapped it open and repeated her command. The black kid stared at her in horrified wonder – obviously thinking that the tiny white woman was about to get her ass kicked. He was halfway right. The rich boy didn't appreciate being threatened by Veronica and quickly stepped down so he could hover over her and intimidate her with his superior size.

"Get lost Mars. Before I _make_ you leave." Veronica smiled at the threat and said nothing. Her cool attitude annoyed the 09'er and he advanced on her and forgot about humiliating the new kid further – which had been Veronica's plan from the start. "I said; get lost!" he repeated mockingly and reached out and pushed Veronica hard in the shoulder. To his surprise and rising guilt she didn't back away or simply shrug off the push. Instead Veronica tumbled heavily backwards with a groan of pain and was quickly on her way down to the ground.

Fortunately for her, Veronica was stopped mid-fall by a pair of strong arms, who wrapped themselves around her and stopped her descent. "Hey Ronnie," Logan's deep voice sounded loud in the sudden intense silence. Veronica didn't respond; she was trying hard to get out of her friend's grip before he noticed what she'd been keeping a secret for so long.

Logan gently released her the moment she struggled and helped her upright again. Then he straightened up and to the other students present it seemed as though his anger darkened the light around him and he suddenly radiated power. "Why were you pushing a woman Mark?" Logan asked softly, "and more importantly; why were you pushing my friend?"

The 09'er, Mark, swallowed hard and tried to say something, but it seemed that fear had momentarily robbed him of that ability. Veronica ignored the two males and made her way over to the forgotten kid on the flagpole. She began cutting the tape, but her hands were trembling so hard that she briefly worried that she might cut herself. Then she felt a pair of warm hands on hers and Veronica looked up into Lily's serious face. Veronica didn't have to say anything; Lily was the only person in the world who truly knew what was going on with her and therefore understood her lack of strength after such an adrenaline rush. "I'll do it Ronnie," Lily said after a moment of silence and then continued freeing the very embarrassed boy.

* * *

A little while later Veronica sat at her usual lunch table in the quad – waiting for Lily to return with their food. She observed how people tiptoed around Logan over at his table – especially Madison Sinclair and her friends - and she smiled inwardly. _At least there's no chance of them distracting Logan to get to Lily today,_ she thought with satisfaction.

A sound tore her out of her ponderings and Veronica's head snapped up – only to lock eyes with the black kid from earlier – now fully dressed. "Hi," he began awkwardly, "I'm Wallace." To Veronica's surprise, he swung a leg over the seat and sat down, "I just wanted to thank you and the other girl for helping me out back there. That was cool." He took out a brown paper bag from his book bag and the enticing smell of food told Veronica it was his lunch. "Did I invite you to sit down?" Veronica asked bluntly and watched emotionlessly as Wallace blushed and began to repack his lunch. "Sorry, didn't mean to bother you," he muttered. Before she could apologize for her rude behavior Veronica saw Lily appear out of the corner of her eye.

Lily's observant eyes took in the entire scenery in a matter of seconds and placed her two trays of food on the table and reached out a manicured hand. "Hi handsome, I'm Lily – It's almost a shame to see you all dressed up, I like a man who can go topless." Wallace broke out into a sheepish grin and took Lily's offered hand without even once looking the least bit disgusted by her disfigurement. Veronica immediately liked him for that. "Yeah well, I just wanted to officially meet my rescuers. So…err, thanks again," he stood up and turned to walk away, but then Veronica blurted out, "Wait – won't you join us? I mean there's plenty of room for another one here…"

Wallace smiled and sat back down again, a moment later he was deeply engrossed in one of his mother's homemade turkey sandwiches. He was completely oblivious to the wide-eyed stare Lily was subjecting her best friend to. After a few minutes Veronica looked up from her untouched food and asked irritably, "what?" Lily smiled, "nothing, it's just weird to see you being civil again – you're hardly polite to anyone anymore. Not even me or Logan."

Veronica snorted unladylike and took a sip of her coke. She didn't respond and watched Logan flirt with and charm his admirers. In the background she spotted Mark with a swollen nose and an already purple left eye. As though Logan could sense her eyes in his direction, he looked over at her and smirked. Veronica nodded and then concentrated on her lunch.

Apparently her one bite didn't fool Lily because a couple of minutes later she gently nudged Veronica in the side and muttered, "Eat up Veronica – You've used a lot of strength today – and it's not even afternoon yet." Knowing she couldn't escape her best friend's eagle eyes Veronica ate everything on her plate and finished her soda.

When the bell rang for class Veronica got up with a small smile and walked with Lily and Wallace inside. Lily walked off to her class first and then Veronica pointed Wallace in the right direction and explained, "Our class is just up that hallway, first door on your right. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom; I don't wanna freak you out, but it's that time of the month you know and I don't really wanna get a hall pass in Mrs. Peterson's class." Predicatively Wallace cringed at the mention of feminine issues and walked away with a friendly smile and a wave.

Veronica quickly entered the bathroom and made sure no one else was inside the other cubicles before she locked herself in and sank down to her knees and stuck two fingers in her mouth. When she was finished, Veronica sighed in disgust over herself and opened the door so she could go wash her hands. Then she froze.

Sitting on the counter in front of the mirrors were Lily. Her arms were crossed and one of her eyebrows was arched in a knowing matter. "So," she began gently, "I distinctively remember we had a deal about this kind of thing, Honey."

**0o0o0**

**TBC.**..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for any and all kudos and comments. I love logging on and seeing that someone is enjoying my messy writing :D   
> Until next time!


	3. Lily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily's side of things after one year, being her usual fab self despite not being her usual fab self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was asked to take a day off today after a lot of extra shifts lately (they apparently noticed that my poor healing body was a tad uncooperative for a bit yesterday) . Coolio though, that only means I can now go celebrate my beloved uncle's 60 year b-day and reward my lovely readers with another chappie!   
> I'm glad people are readig and kudosing and the comments especially are making my day so worthwhile (I'm apparently an attention whore with need of validation, so yay...?)
> 
> Anyway, again I'm aware there's grammar issues and I apologize but hopefully it won't detract too much from the story.

**CHAPTER TWO: LILY  
**

The alarm clock blared to life and Lily Kane groaned at the injustice of it all. "I hate mornings," she muttered to herself and slowly sat up. A moment later she'd walked the short distance to her personal bathroom and was brushing her teeth and washing her face without once looking in the mirror. _Why bother with that ugly sight_ , Lily thought and absentmindedly traced her hideous scar with her free hand.

Twenty minutes later Lily exited her enormous room and walked downstairs where she was greeted with a tightlipped nod from Celeste, a small wave from the waiting Duncan and a quick – but sincere - hug from the maid, Consuela. The Spanish maid placed a full plate of deliciously smelling breakfast in front of her and Lily began nibbling.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted her mother hand a small pill to Duncan, who took the damn thing without any word of protest. The blank look on her brother's face worried the older sister and she hated the condescending way their mother treated the male heir now a days. _Time to shake things up a bit_ , Lily thought and swallowed her food before saying, "So Donut, we better get going. Veronica is waiting after all."

Just as expected Lily's words got a response. Duncan's dead eyes darkened at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. For one brief moment Lily nursed the thought of reminding her brother once again just who'd saved their asses the year before, but Celeste's words distracted her. "I still don't see why you insist on spending time with that Mars girl – especially after what she's put the both of you through. Duncan's paralysis and your poor face being totally disfigured – I…"

Lily's entire posture suddenly changed and Celeste almost took two steps backwards when her oldest child said with ice in her voice, "Don't use my appearance to make it look like you give a crap about anyone else than Duncan. In reality you're just horrified that you have an ugly daughter and a handicapped son – no offence Donut," she threw out as an afterthought when Duncan's posture froze in offence.

"Now," Lily continued on with her usual cheerfulness, "I'm gonna help Duncan here into the car, go make sure my best friend gets to school on time and then I can start my senior year alongside at least one person, who likes me for me…" Without giving her mother a chance to retaliate, Lily thanked Consuela for the meal, took a firm hold on Duncan's wheelchair and made her way out to the car.

Celeste eyed her oldest child's departure and sighed – feeling miffed. "That girl just won't see reason. I'm only trying to help her." Consuela raised an eyebrow as she cleared the plates and muttered, "Is that what you were doing?" Fortunately for the maid's further employment Celeste didn't hear and walked out the room a moment later to do her usual morning shopping.

**0o0o0**

Back outside, Lily mutely loaded Duncan in the backseat and had just started the car, when her phone rang. "You're speaking to the fabulous Lily Kane," she said halfheartedly and backed out of the huge driveway. The voice of Lynne Echolls greeted her and Lily immediately turned serious. "Hi Lily…Err, I just…was Logan with you last night?"

Lily glanced in the rearview mirror to see if Duncan was listening in. Thankfully he was deeply engrossed in his own cell phone talk and Lily answered quietly, "No Mrs. Echolls – I haven't spoken with him since last night. What happened this time?" Lynne Echolls' sigh almost sounded like a sob and Lily didn't need any more information than that _. Once again Aaron Echolls wins the father of the year award_ , she thought darkly. "I'll call you if he comes to school today. I haven't heard from Veronica either, so I know he's not with her. My guess is that he spent the night in the car – otherwise he would have called one of us."

Lynne sighed and thanked her son's ex-girlfriend. "He just snapped…One moment we were just talking and then Aaron…Oh, I gotta go sweetie – Tell Logan I love him." The call was disconnected a second later and Lily closed her cell with a heavy sigh – knowing just who had entered and interrupted Logan's mother's story. _Why anyone would wanna live with him I'll never know – let alone sleep with him_. Lily shuddered at the thought and continued her drive towards Veronica's house. _Or prison would be more like it_ , Lily added sadly and sighed again.

The time just after the accident was blurred in Lily's memory, but she did know that in the middle of her parent's growing resentment and Duncan's bitterness – Veronica herself had been injured. Veronica had apparently used all her own resources to get them all safely to the hospital. Logan had once told Lily, that Veronica had had an almost frightening look in her eyes as she made her way to the hospital. Later they'd found out that the tiny blonde had suffered numerous internal bleedings and had operated entirely on adrenaline as she saved everyone's life.

 _And what does she get in return?_ Lily thought with another glance back at her brother. _Not only does Donut stab her in the back first chance he gets, but Lianne Mars wastes no time in declaring Mr. Mars an unfit parent for letting her drive – despite the fact she was completely sober – and initiate a divorce_. Lily bit her lip when she remembered the night Veronica had called her in desperation.

Keith had announced that he would never let a drunk keep him away from his child. Lianne had immediately threatened the man and said that he would never be allowed near her child again. Then she'd thrown him out of their house – and Veronica had desperately tried to follow him to make sure he realized she'd never willingly choose her mother over him. The sight Lily had seen that night still chilled her to the bone. Veronica had sat inside her car, ignoring her mother, who stood besides the locked door and was undeniably very drunk. Only when Lily had knocked on the window had Veronica opened the door. Lily had quickly relocked her door before Lianne could come around to her side.

"Hey…"she had said softly and had eyed the trembling woman beside her with worry. Veronica had then looked over at her with tears flowing down her face. "She threw him out and I can't make myself start this stupid car." Lily had silently reached out and embraced her shaking friend and muttered soft nothings in her ear. After some time they had driven off to find Veronica's father, but it was too late. Keith Mars was gone. He had only reappeared at the trial, where Lianne's close friendship with Jake Kane had made sure that her threat had become a sad reality. It had been over six months since Veronica had seen her father and almost eight since they'd actually spoken - despite the fact that Keith still lived in Neptune.

Lily was ripped out of her solemn thoughts by Duncan, who suddenly said, "Why can't she just take a cab or ride a bike?" "Because," Lily slowly said through gritted teeth, "I'm driving her to school Duncan – and if you've got a problem with that; get Celeste to take you herself. I don't turn my back on my friends…And we're here now, so I suggest you try to act at least somewhat civil towards the girl you used to claim you loved – or else I'm gonna make sure you can feel my kick in your butt despite your paralysis. Clear?"

Lily pulled up to the house and it didn't take long before Veronica entered the car and immediately Lily felt the burn of oncoming tears at the sight of her best friend. She was nowhere near the healthy girl she'd been only a year ago and it was painfully obvious to Lily. Veronica was wearing a baggy sweater that hid a fact Lily really didn't like to think about.

Lily could see the pain in Veronica's eyes and it momentarily distracted her from the dark circles under her eyes. _I can't ask her if she's eaten yet, not while Donut is listening in_ , Lily finally concluded and looked up in the mirror to see if the road was clear. The sight of the scar mixed with her already sad mood made Lily reach out and put on her favorite pair of sunglasses.

Off course Veronica then reached out and gently removed them saying that she didn't need them. Lily swallowed down her initial desire to reclaim the glasses with a scorching remark, but the sight of Veronica's friendly gaze – so determined in the midst of her own pain that Lily didn't think less of herself – forced a heavy sigh out of her and she said with a lump in her throat, "Fine, I don't give a crap what people think about me…It's my last year anyway."

When they arrived at the school Lily quickly wheeled her brother inside so he could go join his so called friends. She caught Veronica looking a bit wistfully and guiltily at him and thought out to her friend, _It's not your fault – stop taking the blame…_

To distract her, Lily grabbed Veronica's hand and steered them both back outside in search for Logan. "Come on, let's see if the moron shows up today," she said and scanned the parking lot. _I have to see if he's got any need for medical help – If Aaron hit him in the stomach I will kill him, he's barely able to play off the pain in public whenever he's gone a round with his dad._ "I don't think he's gonna show," Veronica's soft voice exclaimed and Lily answered –deep in thought, "I don't know. I think he might."

Logan's injuries had – beside Duncan's - probably been the ones, which had needed the most care. The wood in his belly had pierced through some vital parts and more than one splinter had made its way further into his body. He'd undergone massive surgery and she knew he still suffered from pains – even though he wouldn't admit it. Pain wasn't exactly something Logan liked to admit to. Lily knew this better than anyone; he'd shown up to her house a few months earlier with blood running out of his mouth after a vicious kick from Aaron had him coughing blood up. He'd been warned not to even think about seeking help from a doctor and Lily had given him some of her own painkillers as a last resort. Logan's barely healed wound had increased his pain and he'd soon gotten feverish and the things he'd said during those two days with her were something neither of them ever spoke of. _I don't care about Aaron; if Logan even shows one sign of internal bleeding again, I'm going public!_ Lily thought protectively, but then she broke out into a small smile and said, "There he is…"

Logan arrived and from what Lily could see, he looked perfectly healthy. _I'm not gonna tell Veronica anything today – she deserves a break_ , Lily decided. A few moments later Lily read the text that Logan had sent her friend and hid a smile. I _like the light she gets in her eyes whenever he's around_ , she thought and waved goodbye and walked to her first class of the day. _Maybe I should help things along? God knows he opens up to her more than he does to anyone…They both need someone in their lives._

Lily's scheming was interrupted when she spotted one of her former followers a.k.a. suckups look at her with disdain. "Got a problem Biatch?" Lily asked loudly – completely disregarding the fact that they were in the middle of class. As expected the other girl blushed in embarrassment and quickly looked away –muttering the unoriginal, "freak," and the teacher cleared her throat and tried to reset order. _Like I could care less about world war two and its ramifications on the world's economy_ , Lily thought and took out a fashion magazine.

Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched closely by a set of eyes that held no disdain what so ever.

**0o0o0**

A few hours later, Lily slowly made her way out to the quad for lunch when she literally bumped into Logan. "Hi stud," she greeted with a smile and Logan smirked in return. "So," Lily's voice turned serious, "I got a call from your mom this morning…"

Logan's eyes turned somber and he quickly closed his locker. "Yeah, there was a mild disagreement last night, so I thought I'd split before I'd need medical help. Again. So?"

The defensive way he looked at her didn't deter Lily at all and she gently cupped his cheek. "You can _always_ come to me, you know that." Logan nodded and stepped away from the touch. His dislike for touch had only increased over the last year and Lily sighed. Aside from his casual sexual and physical escapades, Logan hardly ever touched anyone voluntarily anymore. _Aside from Ronnie of course_ , Lily admitted and knew a small part of her resented that. He had after all dated _her_ once upon a time…

"So," Logan's deep voice brought Lily back to the now and she looked up, "It really wasn't so bad - I meant to call you, but I just crashed at Dick's – we played some games, had a few beers- You know, the usual. Ronnie needed her sleep and I figured D.K. wouldn't be too happy to see me in your bedroom in the middle of the night."

"Puh-lease," Lily exclaimed and followed him on the way to the quad – expertly ignoring the looks she received in the process, "Donut is a moron if he thinks I'll listen to anything he has to say. He made his choice back then and don't get to say anything else."

The two friends walked in silence for a bit – both deep in thought. Lily thought about the day Duncan had demanded that she and Logan stay away from Veronica after that day in court. Lily had laughed it off, but the look Logan had given her brother still gave her nightmares. That day had ended their friendship and Duncan had immediately tried to exile Logan from the popular kids at the school. Tried being the key word; the 09'ers were divided. Half chose the sweet handicapped Duncan, who was miserable over his friend's betrayal and the other half chose the dangerous Logan, whose charisma and power eluded naturally from him. Only one person had chosen Logan's side out of real loyalty; Dick Cassablancas. Lily briefly pondered that if she hadn't been so hideous now, she would have slept with him as a thank you.

"Wanna hang out later?" Logan's voice once again brought Lily back to the present and she nodded as they walked outside. "Absolutely, I need to get something for Ronnie anyhow, it's almost her birthday." Logan didn't get a chance to respond, because they suddenly realized that something unusual was going on in the quad.

A group of people were hiding someone, but Logan's height aided him and Lily heard him mutter angrily, "If he hurts as much as one hair on her head…"

 _Veronica_! Immediate images of the small form and its real size catapulted Lily's mind and she quickly followed a silent Logan. She did not envy the idiot, who angered him. When pushed Logan's true strength came out and there wasn't a doubt in Lily's mind, that if he wasn't so afraid of his dad, Aaron wouldn't stand a chance.

A moment later she had pushed her way through the other onlookers and her heart almost jumped out of her chest in fear, when she saw that idiotic 09'er Mark actually push Veronica. _Can't he see how frail she is?_ Lily fumed. Fortunately before her fears of a hurt Veronica could become reality, Logan had caught her safely in his strong arms.

It didn't take long before the two males were in the middle of a macho showdown that didn't interest Lily in the slightest and she looked over and spotted Veronica in the midst of cutting down some poor kid from the flagpole.

Out of habit Lily's eyes quickly travelled over and categorized the new kid. _Not bad_ , she thought with a shadow of her old predatory smile on her lips. Then she noticed that Veronica's skinny hands were trembling and she quickly lent a helping hand.

**0o0o0**

Soon after Veronica and Lily were talking with the new kid, Wallace at their lunch table and Lily was so engrossed in a conversation with him, that she only spared one long glare at Veronica when she didn't eat. To Lily's surprise her friend happily ate everything on the plate and she quickly pushed her suspicions away – happy that Veronica's belly was full for once.

When the lunch break ended Lily said goodbye to Wallace and walked away with a wave to Veronica. A moment later she stopped. _Doesn't Veronica usually fight me a little more on the food subject?_ A lingering feeling of unease forced Lily to turn away from the door to her class and just go see if her fears were correct.

She soundlessly entered the bathroom a minute later and held back a defeated sigh at the sound of retching. She got up on the counter and waited sadly. _You promised me girl_ … Lily didn't have to wait long before the cubicle door slowly opened and Veronica stepped back out.

She stopped dead at the sight of Lily, who gently said, "So, I distinctively remember we had a deal about this kind of thing honey."

Veronica didn't move for a long moment – it was easy for Lily to see that her anorexic friend was afraid and ashamed at being caught in the act. Finally Lily forced her penetrating stare to lessen and she sighed, "Ronnie – Please don't do that again. You need to keep the food inside your body honey."

Mutely Veronica nodded and walked over to wash her hands. Lily felt sick to her stomach at the sight of those tiny wrists and wondered if she should demand to see Veronica's body again, when Veronica quietly stated, "I'm sorry Lils," she finally turned around to meet her friend's gaze. "I usually don't do that – it just…it was too much in my stomach after so long and I had to get it out."

Lily didn't respond for a long moment, but then to Veronica's obvious relief, she started to smile and said, "Well, I won't go all intervention-mode again, I'll only remind you to come to me whenever it gets too much. After all, I owe you my life."

Veronica rolled her eyes – as always uncomfortable at the reminder - and dried her hands, "Whatever –Look, I'm gonna go to class before the teacher blames me for something or other, okay? I'll wait for you after class, I promise." Then she kissed Lily briefly on the cheek and walked away without another word.

Lily watched her best friend with concern. _I really hoped she was on the mend_ ; she thought and turned to the mirror to gaze into her own eyes. As always the scar made it so that Lily couldn't stand to look at her reflection more than a moment, before she grabbed her schoolbag and followed Veronica out the door.

It didn't take long before Lily entered her last class of the day. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted some of her former followers, one of them the girl from earlier. They were giggling and discreetly pointing in her direction – apparently hoping to make her feel self-conscious. Lily simply raised an eyebrow and blew the girls a mocking kiss before she elegantly sat down. _Like those Barbies will ever make me regret sticking to Veronica. Losers…_

The Kane girl sighed and didn't even try to keep her attention on the teacher. After the accident Lily had still been idolized by the other 09'ers at the school, but their blatant disrespect to her best friend had made Lily see them for what they really were. _Money hungry idiots_ , she smirked and began sharpening her nails – waiting for the class to end.

When the bell finally rang Lily jumped to her feet and quickly walked out into the hallway and immediately walked over to her brother, who was already waiting for her alongside his moronic friends. "Hey Donut," Lily greeted and ignored the glare she got for using the less than flattering name in public. "Say bye bye to your goons and let's wheel on outta here." Duncan rolled his eyes and fist bumped his friends, Casey and Luke.

A half an hour later, Lily had dropped off Veronica and helped unload Duncan. "I'm gonna head on outta here," she stated as soon as his wheels touched the ground. "I've got people to see and money to spend." She noticed that Duncan's jaw clenched, but he seemed to restrain himself from saying anything hurtful and as a reward she bent down and hugged him goodbye. _I do love the idiot after all._

Just as she pulled up to the Echolls mansion, Lily's cell rang and she quickly answered when she saw Veronica's caller ID. "So, feeling up to a little shopping with me and Logan?" She cheerfully asked. Veronica's voice sounded profoundly relieved when she agreed and Lily promised to pick her up after she'd gotten Logan.

As expected, Logan didn't object when he found out that their duo time had increased to trio time and all three of them spent a few happy hours at the mall and at the beach. It was only when they drove back to Veronica's house things turned sour.

A very familiar car stood in the driveway and Veronica immediately turned to Lily and stated, "I'm _not_ spending the night here, if he's sleeping here…I don't care if I have to go to school tomorrow without my books. I'm not going in there."

The look of fierce determination on her friend's face reminded Lily of the time where Veronica had been herself and not that weak imitation she was now and before she knew it, she'd told Logan to calm Veronica down and exited the car – full of determination herself.

A moment later, she reached the front door and rang the doorbell. Being her usual diplomatic sels, the disfigured blonde kept her finger on the button until muffled sounds told her someone was on their way. The door opened and revealed a disheveled Lianne Mars, who was only halfway covered in a small robe and as always clearly intoxicated.

Lily didn't spare her a second glance and looked over the other woman's shoulder, found her target and used her coldest tone when she spoke. "Sorry to interrupt the good times, but I'm here for my best friend's school things. Would you mind grabbing them for me daddy dearest?"

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little bit! I can say that this was really the story that made me fall in love with Lily's character despite her numerous flaws. I only hope you all think I captured her essence even after her current circumstances. 
> 
> Until Next Time!!


	4. Logan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan's side of things...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just happy people are enjoying this little tale of mine. A guest commenter kindly pointed out that Lianne's custody of Veronica is impossible and I kindly pointed out that this is fiction and it is way over the top and full of tropes and cliches so...well, use your imagination and suspend your disbelief until this is over as it's only gonna get worse :D   
> Thanks for reading and commenting and kudos'ing. Love it!

**CHAPTER THREE: LOGAN  
**

An excruciating pain flared to life in his stomach and he looked down and saw a piece of wood embedded in his abdomen. Without realizing it, his fingers slowly rose to touch the pouring blood. The pain immediately intensified. "Argh… shit it hurts," he muttered and then looked up when he heard a soft voice gasp his name. _She's so pale_ , he thought and held on to the sound of her voice.

Sometime later he felt her small arms help him out from his prison and place him in another man's vehicle. He thinks he might have passed out after that. The next thing he remembered were her sky-blue eyes as he sadly whispered, "I don't wanna die Ronnie…"

When he woke up again, the pain was muted and it took him a while to figure out what was going on. The memory of her pain filled eyes haunted him into action and he asked a nurse, who hesitated and finally told him that all of them were in a bad shape - Especially _her_ after a severe blood loss. His heart twitched in fear and he closed his eyes with a prayer. _Not her, anyone but her…_

"Dick…Dude come on man, it's morning and you gotta get ready for school."

The hesitant voice belonging to Cassidy "Beaver" Cassablancas, slowly brought Logan out of his sleep – his nightmare. "No way it can't be morning already," Dick's muffled voice sounded from underneath his pillow.

Logan frowned as he slowly sat up. His heart was pounding and he took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. Every time he had that dream, his immediate desire to call Veronica and check up on her was so strong that he had to count to ten before doing anything else.

I _haven't had that dream in a few weeks now_ , Logan thought and finally got to his feet and walked towards the nearest bathroom to get ready, _must be Aaron's behavior that made me go to sleep unhappy last night._

Logan chuckled darkly as he opened a new pack of toothbrushes and took one and put some toothpaste on it. _Who am I kidding – every night in the Echolls household means an unhappy one._ Logan slowly took off his shirt and vaguely inspected the results of last night's encounter. He'd been playing on his computer and had been having a rare peaceful moment; when his father's deep rumble suddenly escalated into a full-blown roar against his mother. Only a moment later Logan had interrupted his father's threats to his trembling mother and had therefore earned himself a beating. A beating he no longer took without a small sample of resistance thus ensuring a larger amount of injuries.

A pounding on the door jerked Logan back to reality and he quickly turned to lock the door before Dick entered. But it was too late and in the next second Dick stumbled in and stopped dead at the sight of a topless Logan. "Whoa dog," he muttered silently and quickly slammed the door and locked it before Cassidy could enter the bathroom too.

Logan smirked without saying a word. Dick's blue eyes traveled down his torso – taking in all the bruises and marks. Dick's eyes stopped at the scar from the accident and noticed a cluster of bruising around it. Before he could say anything though, Logan reached out and put on his shirt again. "Yeah, Aaron does know to hit where it hurts. So, you wanna ride with me to school today?"

"Logan, man – you gotta do something, can't you report him to the sheriff or something?" Logan shook his head and rubbed his eyes tiredly, "No I can't do that. He's not an actor for nothing, remember? He's probably gonna spin everything to his advantage and then go home and beat the shit out of my mom to get his pent up aggression out…Besides," Logan added quietly, "I don't want Ronnie to know I've spoken to her dad – she still misses him and shit."

To his credit Dick simply nodded and put the whole thing out of his mind. Logan silently observed his friend go through his grooming process. Logan swallowed a grateful smile. Back when Duncan had showed him what a dickhead he really was – no one but the Cassablancas heir had stood by his side without hesitating first. Dick was loyal and in his mind Logan could do no real wrong, so if he said he didn't need the law to help him out with his home problems, who was Dick to judge. Logan knew this and appreciated it, because it meant that Dick wouldn't ask too many questions. Only two people in his life were allowed to push his privacy limits and although he loved the dude, Dick wasn't one of them.

**0o0o0**

A little while later, Logan drove off to school a few minutes after the Cassablancas brothers. Just as he bent over to change the tune on his stereo, his phone went off. Logan sighed when he saw the caller id, but answered while he pulled over – knowing he shouldn't be driving during this conversation.

"Hi mom…" He greeted slowly. Lynne Echolls voice immediately brought out the memory of the previous night and Logan really didn't want to go down that road right now. "Thank God you're okay, Logan. I've just said goodbye to your father for the day and he told me to tell you that he expects you home for dinner tonight…"

"So we can play the ideal family for a change?" Logan couldn't help but quip and he resisted the urge to yell at his mother. "Err…"her voice was hesitant now, "…I'm sorry you had to go through that again Logan – I'm just weak…But," she quickly added before Logan could say anything, "never mind that. I called to tell you I might have tipped off Lily – I was worried about you Logan. Aaron and you really gave it your all last night – I had to get a doctor over here to stitch his arm up…So…I thought you might be hurt and…"

Unable to take any more Logan quickly interjected, "Mom, I'm fine. A couple of bruises but that's all. I spent the night at Dick's. I'm on my way to school now – but I promise I'll be home later, all right?" A few moments later Logan ended the call and placed his head on the steering wheel with a heavy sigh. The minute he closed his eyes, his dream came roaring back into his mind. Veronica's blue eyes – so filled with fear and pain. The pain had only increased over the last year but before Logan could dive into that particular memory again, his phone rang again.

"Dude I'm on my way," Logan all but sneered into the phone without checking the caller. "Good morning son," Aaron's deep voice said after a short pause and Logan instantly straightened up. "Your mother just informed me that you were allright – and I'm happy to know that you're still going to school despite everything." Logan snarled soundlessly at the condescending way his father spoke. _As if he gives a damn_ , he thought angrily, but then he said emotionlessly, "She told me we're having dinner tonight. Is it at seven as always?"

Aaron's dark chuckle – so like Logan's own, made his skin crawl, "Yes son. We need to sit down as a family and be reminded of our love, isn't that right?" Logan didn't respond for a moment, but then he agreed. "So," Aaron's tone became more cheerful, "now that we've put this whole thing behind us, I'm gonna go do my job. Your allowance doesn't come automatically, you know."

Logan sat in silence for a minute after the conversation with his father. _I hate the son of a bitch_ ; he thought and clenched his fingers on the wheel for a second. He knew deep down inside that it was only his own fears that kept him from going full throttle on the older man. "I gotta go to school and talk a bit with Ronnie and Lils," Logan muttered after another heavy pause – knowing that only those two girls could calm him now.

**0o0o0**

A few hours later, Logan found himself in the eraser room with Caitlin Ford. The tall skinny blonde was a sad replacement for Lily Kane, but Logan knew that Lily had figured out his true desires and therefore that road was never to be walked upon again. As Caitlin wiped her mouth and he himself zipped up his pants, Logan fervently wished for the past to come back.

Caitlin smiled with sex in her eyes up at him – obviously way too sure on her power over him and Logan charmingly responded and thanked the girl before he simply turned and left her to her own devices.

A moment later, he was on his way to the final class before lunch. _Nothing like a little rendezvous to bring forth an appetite_ , Logan thought with a smirk – eager for the chance to eat. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed people's stares. Some were more along the lines of pure idolization, but there were also the usual hate filled ones. One stare in particular caught Logan's attention. Due to his crappy start of the day, Logan didn't really want to ignore it as he usually did – so he promptly stopped and asked coolly, "Wanna say something to me? I know I'm pretty, but dude, enough with the stares already – you might give people a wrong impression of your," Logan looked around in fake concern and then stage whispered, "sexuality…"

Duncan Kane's hateful stare intensified and his cheeks slowly turned a telling shade of pink. Logan's smirk increased and he turned to continue toward his class. Then Duncan spoke and Logan stopped mid-movement. "I'll remember that. So did your dad throw – I mean show you around last night?"

Logan quickly scanned Duncan's entourage and judging from the mocking, but fearful glimpses in their eyes, they hadn't caught on to the innuendo. Logan took a deep breath in relief and walked the few steps over to his former best friend, who'd just violated his trust so severely. He crouched down before him, so they were eye to eye and said, "That is no longer a concern of yours, now is it Donut?" Duncan's eyes narrowed in anger, but then widened in actual fear when Logan continued calmly – and so quietly that no one but he could hear, "I've never done anything to you for the shit you've put Ronnie through as a favor to her, but keep pushing my limits like that and I'm gonna show you just who the real psycho in my family is…"

Without another word Logan quickly stood back up and roughly pushed Duncan's chair into his friends and walked inside his class with an evil smirk on his handsome face. People recognized that look of anger in his eyes and avoided him. It was only Dick, who shared this class with him, that stayed by his side completely fearless. "So, did you do your homework 'cause I totally didn't." With a chuckle Logan calmed down and sporadically paid attention to the teacher until the bell rang and he left Dick as he tried to flirt with Madison Sinclair for the hundredth time that day alone.

A moment later Lily ran into him and he expertly avoided any serious talk about his latest fight with his dad and they walked in comfortable silence towards the quad. With a inwardly sigh Logan suddenly remembered he was supposed to have a full-blown family dinner that night and he immediately felt the need for a good time beforehand. He glanced down at his ex-girlfriend, who looked very thoughtful at the moment and Logan felt a pang of pity go out to her.

After the accident her injury had been so severe that her shocked parents had instantly hired the best plastic surgeon possible. The doctor had done a good job with most of the scarring and there was only one big one left – sadly it was so deep that it was impossible to do anything else with. Logan sighed, but then shook himself out of his pitying thoughts. _She's still stunning and I'd still be with her if she'd want me and if it wasn't because of Ronnie…_

Again images of Veronica assaulted his mind and Logan quickly stopped his imagination before it got too detailed and then remembered what he'd been thinking a moment before. _A good time before the torture session_ … "Wanna hang out later?" he asked and with a small genuine smile, he saw Lily flinch as she too was torn out of some deep thinking. _Glad I'm not the only one living in my head today_ , he briefly thought.

Just as Lily answered his request they'd exited the doors and Logan immediately spotted trouble. A group of people were surrounding someone and Logan's eyes quickly recognized the tall kiss ass 09'er Mark something – but more importantly his eyes swallowed the person Mark was obviously arguing with. A tiny blonde Logan would recognize anywhere.

Anger grew inside him like never before and Logan's teeth were clenched in rage as he hissed, "If he hurts so much as one hair on her head…" Before he knew it he'd begun moving – shoving people aside without a second thought. The second he pushed the last obstacle – nay person out of his way, Logan saw Mark push the much smaller Veronica and she began falling backwards. One part of Logan immediately categorized the other 09'er as dead meat, while the other wondered in concern why one push could have so much impact on Veronica.

In the next second he'd caught her surprisingly light body and for a quick moment Logan reveled in the fact that she was in his arms, but then he shrugged it off and turned back into the person she saw him as. Her friend. "Hi Ronnie," he muttered in her ear without letting her go.

To his sadness Veronica's frozen state didn't last and she began squirming to be released and with a long inwardly sigh Logan complied. As he straightened back up, his temper reminded him that he should focus on something else. Someone else named Mark.

The anger boiled up again and Logan watched with internal satisfaction as Mark fidgeted in anxiety when he asked softly, "Why were you pushing a woman Mark? And more importantly; why were you pushing my friend?" Out of the corner of his eyes Logan noticed that Veronica moved towards a naked black kid taped to the flagpole and he realized just what had set off the argument in the first place.

Mark cleared his throat and Logan's attention returned to the other male and without a warning Logan's fist connected with Mark's face. Mark went down hard and slammed his head on the pavement. People grimaced in sympathy – knowing that when Logan Echolls got mad enough to throw punches – he was not about to take it easy on you.

Logan bent down to hit Mark again when suddenly the memory of last night returned. Aaron standing much like he was now – over his own fallen body and kicking him relentlessly in the one place that made sure that Logan couldn't fight back anymore. Shaking the memory of with disgust Logan unfolded his clenched fist and instead he reached out and helped the dazed looking Mark to his feet. Mark looked petrified at the close proximity between them and Logan took one step back. He waited – half expecting that Mark would retaliate, but when nothing happened, Logan nodded and said coolly, "Don't do it again."

Without another word or punch being exchanged the shocked crowd of Neptune High watched their unofficial leader walk over to his usual lunch table with his signature smirk on his face – completely sure that his order would be carried out.

And it would be – Mark never lifted a hand towards another female ever again.

**0o0o0**

When school ended Logan drove home without hesitation. He knew he couldn't avoid his family so why delay it. Fortunately he still had plans with Lily, so he knew he'd get a needed breather before dinnertime. When Logan pulled up to the huge mansion he was forced to call home, he broke into a relieved smile – despite his best efforts. His dad's car wasn't there so he wouldn't have to suffer any unnecessary small talk until dinner.

The minute he entered the house Lynne appeared and Logan fought back the urge to growl. A barely covered bruise was visible behind her dark bangs. "Hi mom," Logan greeted and strolled towards the kitchen to get a bottle of water. "Good to see he can amuse himself when I'm not around," he muttered. Lynne sighed and he could hear her follow him. "It wasn't that bad Logan, he just heard me talking to Lily and came to some wrong conclusions – that's all."

Logan resisted a childish eye roll and took a sip of the cold water. Lynne leaned back on the counter and before long the mother and son had discussed the weather, the schooldays and was just embarking on another round of the weather, when Lynne stopped with another sigh.

"So Logan," she then began, "I meant to tell you last night that I ran into Sheriff Mars the other day." Logan felt his body tense and he sat the now empty bottle by the sink and waited for Lynne to continue. "He's miserable – even though he tried to play it off as a bad case of the flu. He looks so…old and tired and he asked me if you and Veronica were still close? The moment I said yes, he basically attacked me with questions for you to ask her. Like; how's she doing in school? How's her love life? Does Lianne make sure she eats right? And all sorts of other questions like that. I have to admit I was shocked," Lynne continued when Logan didn't say anything, "Here I – along with the rest of Neptune – thought he'd been bought off enough so he wouldn't care what happened to the girl, but the look in his eyes…I mean, he really looked worried and sad and…I think we might not know the whole thing there."

Logan didn't respond for a moment, but then he echoed his mother's earlier sigh and quietly said, "Yeah, that's the impression I've gotten too – but I can't get Ronnie to talk about it."

They stood in worried silence for a while, but then Lynne straightened up and said, "Well, we can't worry about that now. I'm gonna go take a bath and if I know my son as well as I think I do, you've got plans of your own before dinner – so go change and have fun with Lily."

Logan watched his mother walk out of the kitchen with a bemused smile on his lips. _Sometimes_ _she's more perceptive than I give her credit for_ ; he thought and went to his room to do as he had been told.

About thirty minutes later he heard Lily's horn echo loudly outside and Logan quickly kissed Lynne on the cheek and walked out to his waiting friend.

"So newsflash baby," her cheerful voice and genuine smile greeted him as he slid inside the car, "I've invited Veronica to tag along today on our little adventure –I _do_ hope you don't mind," she added with a mischievous smile and Logan grinned as he shook his head.

**0o0o0**

They all spent the next few hours goofing around at the mall and enjoyed the peace at the beach. Logan completely forgot that he'd have to spend the evening with the man he hated more than anyone as he laughed at Lily's antics and Veronica's sarcastic interludes.

But all good things have to end sometime and before he knew it, Logan had to get back and Lily promised to take him home, just after she'd dropped of Veronica.

Despite Lily's slow paced driving, they pulled up to Veronica's house faster than Logan had anticipated. Then he felt Veronica stiffen beside him and he looked over and noticed that her eyes were glued to the car in the driveway. Logan swallowed a curse when he realized whose car it was and he understood Veronica, when she turned to Lily and stated, "I'm not spending the night here, if he's sleeping here…I don't care if I have to go to school tomorrow without my books, I'm not going in there."

Logan shared a brief look with Lily when they noticed the determined gleam in their friend's eyes. To Logan's growing reluctance he saw the same stubborn look growing in Lily's eyes and before he could say a word, she suddenly said, "Try and see if you can calm her down. I'm going in."

The minute the Kane girl exited the car to go and have an unavoidable confrontation with her father's lover, Veronica calmed down. "Damn," she said, "if I'd known she'd do that I wouldn't have…" Logan smiled and placed his arm around the tiny girl's shoulder. "Nothing we could have said would've stopped her and you know it…"

They watched Lily carry on a conversation with a disheveled looking Lianne and in the next moment Lily disappeared inside – probably to find Veronica's schoolbag. As they waited Logan suddenly remembered the conversation he'd had with his own mother earlier that afternoon and he turned in his seat and said, "So my mom ran into Keith Mars yesterday."

Veronica closed her eyes and Logan almost wished he hadn't said anything, but then she opened them and asked bluntly, "and what did he want?"

Logan retold his mother's story and to his surprise he saw that Veronica's eyes filled with tears. But then she shrugged off his arm, wiped her eyes and said, "Tell him I'm fine and that I'm handling Lianne the best way I know how. But whatever you do – make sure he doesn't come around here – okay?"

 _There's definitely something I'm missing_ , Logan thought and was about to tell Veronica that she didn't have to keep secrets from him, when Lily stormed out of the house with fire in her eyes and walked towards the car.

Jake Kane followed her with a matching scowl on his face and Logan immediately opened the car door and stepped out of the vehicle. Jake's determined steps faltered and the two men stared each other down as Lily got into the car and restarted it. "Have a nice night," Logan finally said and nodded politely to the frozen man and the shaking drunk of a mother in the doorway before he got back inside the car and Lily drove off.

The trio didn't say anything until the car stopped in front of Logan's house a little while later. Logan noticed his father's car in the open garage and knew he had to make a choice. The saddened looks Lily and Veronica exchanged every now and again finally convinced Logan and he pulled out his phone and called his dad.

Aaron picked up the phone at the second ring and Logan barely took the time to breathe before he said, "Hi, it's me. I'm outside with Lily and Veronica. There's been some problems at their houses today and I didn't think they should have to go to a hotel when we've got so many rooms and I was kinda hoping…"

"Say no more my boy," Aaron's voice interrupted Logan's explanation and he continued, "I understand completely. You're more than welcome to let the girls stay here. As you said, we've got plenty of room. It's good to know that I've raised a gentleman. Always be respectable to the ladies after all…"

The hypocritical statement almost made Logan laugh, but he resisted and quickly told the girls that they were spending the night at his house.

A moment later, the door to the mansion opened and Lynne and Aaron appeared – both with charming and welcoming smiles on their faces – _the complete picture of family happiness_ , Logan thought mockingly and led his two best friends inside.

Both Lily and Veronica knew his home life situation, but they both acted like they knew nothing and the mood was friendly as they ate the meal Lynne had made the cook prepare. A few hours later they all went to bed.

Logan couldn't sleep, because he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to sleep uninterrupted. And sure enough the door opened a few hours after midnight and Veronica walked in, dressed in an enormous pajama that covered her completely. "Hi," she said after a tense minute and finally Logan simply lifted his covers. She quickly dove into the bed next to him without another word. Only ten minutes after that did Lily make her entrance. She smiled briefly when she spotted the other two and Logan lifted the covers on his other side with a matching smile.

With the two most important people in his life by his side, Logan sighed heavily _. At least we've got each other in this hellhole_ , he thought before sleep finally claimed him for the night.

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**


	5. Veronica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and letting me know what you think, even if it's negative. Hugsies from Denmark :D

**CHAPTER FOUR: VERONICA  
**

Veronica woke up slowly – _What woke me up_? She thought - still half asleep. Then she realized she was feeling something odd, almost like a burn on her face and she hesitantly opened her eyes. And then Veronica immediately locked eyes with a sheepish looking Logan, who'd apparently been staring at her while she slept.

"What are you planning?" Veronica asked teasingly and averted her eyes to the ceiling. "Well, maybe I'm just trying to will that God awful snoring of yours to disappear." Logan teased back and Veronica immediately sat up and stole his pillow right out from under him and slammed it into his smirking face. "I don't have an awful snore Mr. Echolls – it's petite and delicate like myself."

A loud snort was heard after that statement and Lily sat up from Logan's other side and raised an eyebrow. Veronica smiled, "What?" she then asked when Lily's eyebrow didn't waver an inch. "Do I need to remind you of the time we taped you during sleepy time? I think a deaf person would be able to hear you." Veronica rolled her eyes and ignored her two friend's matching grins as she got out of the huge bed and made her way to Logan's bathroom. "Just for that," Veronica said over her shoulder, "I'm gonna do my hardest to use up all the hot water."

When Veronica quietly closed the door a few seconds later, she instinctively locked it as well, before she turned around and began shedding her clothes for her morning shower. Without looking in the huge mirror not two feet away from her, Veronica stepped into the shower and turned the water on full blast.

The warm drops cascaded down her thin body and Veronica sighed in almost heavenly bliss. _I could get used to this_ , Veronica thought and finally began shampooing her hair from one of the many bottles available. Several minutes later Lily began pounding on the door. "Mars! Get your tiny behind out here, I've gotta shower too, you know!"

Veronica smiled inwardly and began drying herself with a big fluffy towel. "Oh yeah Kane? I thought you were fabulous no matter what?" Lily didn't respond and Veronica added teasingly, "Besides there are other showers available in this house, ain't that right Echolls?" Logan's rare laugh echoed through the wooden door and he replied, "Leave me out of this!"

Lily stopped banging on the door and chuckling with mild amusement Veronica quickly finished drying off and went over to the closet by the wall, where Logan had cleared a shelf for both Lily and her when it became obvious both of them preferred spending the night in his room. "Ah fresh undies – nice," Veronica muttered to herself and began pulling the rest of the baggy clothes off her shelf and onto her.

Eventually Veronica couldn't avoid the mirror anymore and she turned around to put on some of her mascara and dabbed some concealer under her eyes to hide the dark circles clearly visible there. She reached out for a brush, which she distractedly recognized as the one Logan had bought her just the week before and began brushing her blond locks.

 _Maybe I should just let it down today?_ She pondered as she really noticed for the first time in a long while just how hollow her cheeks were. Her chin was sticking out and forget about the baby fat her dad used to tease her about before…

_Dad._

Keith's picture flared to life before Veronica's eyes and she quickly closed them in an attempt to not see his smiling face _. I miss him so much_ ; she thought sadly and gave up her struggles when the pain roared to life inside her. It instantly felt as though Keith's presence was with her and he enveloped her in his arms – warming her from the inside out for the first time in months. _If only you were here daddy_ , Veronica thought out to her father in longing and blinked away the unavoidable tears as the memory of her discovery tried to surface. _But you can't be…_

"Veronica! Come on! We'll be late for school!" Lily's penetrating shriek pierced through Veronica's sudden gloom and as though reaching for a lifeline the tiny blonde pushed the dark mood away and yelled back, "Hold ya horses Lily; I'm coming!"

* * *

The trio ate breakfast in Logan's car on the way to the High School. Veronica noticed that Lily was discreetly eying her food amount and with an inwardly sigh Veronica took a few more bites than she felt comfortable with. Mentally she reminded herself that Lily truly believed that her aversion to eating was due to a bad self image; that the Kane girl simply didn't understand that Veronica just didn't feel like eating anymore. _And seeing how I used to eat triple portions in the past, I gotta remember that I can't really blame her…_ Veronica told herself firmly and managed to swallow the rest of her store-bought oatmeal without the slightest grimace on her face.

A few minutes later they pulled up to the school and got out. Just as they exited the vehicle Lily got a text and Veronica knew from the look on her best friend's face that the message was from her brother. "Everything okay?" she muttered when Lily still hadn't said anything a minute later. Lily slowly looked up and Veronica just managed to catch a glimpse of fierce anger before it vanished and the usual glint appeared. "Oh it's all good Ronnie. It's just my darling brother, who wants to know why I didn't drive him to school today? As if he didn't get Celeste's chauffeur to take him."

Logan's deep chuckle interrupted the two girls' quiet talk, "Well, there you have it Lils. Duncan Kane doesn't need you at his beck and call twenty four seven anymore. It's not like he appreciates you at all even when you _are_ around." Veronica silently watched as an uncharacteristic vulnerable expression came to life on Lily's face. _She's actually embarrassed that Logan verbally acknowledges how much she helps Duncan out_ …

"Look," Veronica quickly interjected when Lily's soft expression began to turn into the exact opposite, "I'm gonna be late for class – so let's talk at lunch, okay? Thanks for a nice morning."

Before either of them could say anything in response Veronica had turned and walked towards the entrance doors.

A few minutes later Veronica had been by her locker and was on her way to her first class of the day. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of her old friends, Meg Manning, beam brightly at her in greeting and Veronica tried to make her features less hostile. It was a struggle for Veronica; these days the only ones she could smile genuinely to were Logan and Lily.

She didn't manage her self-appointed task, because in the next second she crashed into someone. Veronica stumbled backwards and cursed loudly when her skinny body offered no protection from the impact at all. _Now I'm gonna get bruises again_ , Veronica briefly thought and began to apologize for her poor navigational abilities. "I'm so sorr…oh, hi. Uhm," Veronica stopped when she saw just who she'd walked into.

Duncan Kane of all people.

He sat in his wheelchair and was glaring up at her with ice in his eyes. "Watch where you _walk_ would ya!" Duncan hissed and put the emphasis on the word walk. Veronica swallowed – trying hard to ignore the look of pure loathing her ex-boyfriend sent her, but it was in vain. _Having his goons laugh at me at the same time isn't exactly easy to overlook either_ , Veronica thought and glanced behind Duncan where his trusty sidekicks stood with matching looks of disgust in their eyes.

"I-I didn't hurt your chair did I?" Veronica muttered and almost took a step back when Duncan's glare intensified as he sneered, "Oh no Veronica – It's not my chair you broke, remember?"

The goons behind him laughed again and slapped Duncan on the shoulder and yelled, "Good one D.K." Duncan himself looked immensely pleased with himself and he continued – using the rare opportunity to speak freely, now that his sister wasn't around, "So are you off to ruin someone else's life now? I mean mine, my sisters – and let's not forget my parents and yours as well. Well, it's not like the sheriff had so much going for him before all this mess and—HEY!"

Veronica Mars was suffering inside and on normal days that was all well and good – she could handle that and her classmates ridicule meant nothing to her, but the moment Duncan steered in on her parents – especially Keith Mars something snapped and broke free. Veronica saw red and before Duncan finished his insult, she'd placed her small hands tightly around his neck.

It was with immense satisfaction that Veronica mutely observed Duncan's eyes widen in sudden fear and the pulsing vein on his forehead steadily grew as his complexion turned purple. "Don't. Talk. About. My. Dad." Veronica softly whispered when she felt she'd gotten her point across.

Her words broke the spell on the witnessing students, who'd up until that moment had stood and watched the scene with their mouths hanging open in shock. Duncan's new best friend, Luke quickly jumped in between the former golden couple and tore Veronica's hands off Duncan's throbbing neck. "Freak!" he roared and crouched down in front of his friend to see if he needed medical help.

Veronica didn't move and neither did Duncan. Their eyes were locked on each other and Veronica finally realized something _. It doesn't matter to him how sorry I am for everything – he's still gonna blame me for all of it!_ Veronica blinked and said so quietly that only Duncan heard her, "I'm done paying the price for something I didn't do."

Duncan didn't verbally respond, but his eyes darkened ominously and it was obvious that he really wanted to be able to make her quiver before him again. _Not a chance_ , Veronica thought grimly and roughly pushed her way through the still lingering crowd of onlookers.

 _The day started out all right_ , Veronica thought to herself as she entered the classroom a few moments later, _so why is it, it always change into something really suck worthy?_

Veronica glanced around and saw that there was a free table in the back of the room and she quickly went for it. Not in the mood to bear people's stares on her back that day. _This way I can actually see whose gonna gossip about me_ , Veronica added mentally and sat down with a heavy sigh.

The encounter with Duncan had stripped her of her energy and Veronica wanted nothing more than place her head in her arms and sleep the day away. A hesitant voice stopped her just as she was about to do just that and she looked up and met Wallace's concerned eyes. "Uhm…hey Veronica…"

"Hey," she greeted dully after a long silent pause and then began pulling out her book from her bag. "So…I saw you having words with that guy in the…uhm, wheelchair." his voice sounded closer and Veronica looked back up and noticed that her newest friend had leaned over so he could try and talk more privately with her – try being the key word. People were already shooting them glances and Veronica knew that if she listened in on the gossip in the bathroom after class, she'd find out that Wallace and she were in a committed relationship with tree babies and a crack loving neighbor, who joined them in the sack every now and again.

The mental image of _that_ scenario made Veronica quirk a small smile and she shook her head to lose the picture in her head. Then she straightened up and pointed out to the waiting Wallace, "It's okay to call the kid in the wheelchair handicapped, you know. It's not a dirty word." Wallace grimaced at her blunt words, but soldiered on without a comment, "I actually wanted to talk to you –I heard that you're the sheriff's daughter and maybe you could help me out a bit?" Wallace's questioning eyes turned concerned once again when Veronica's pale skin turned almost green. "Are you all right?"

 _Damn now I have to tell him something about the whole parental mess that's my life_ …Veronica thought and took a deep breath. "I don't talk that much with my father right now. My parents are going through one of those messy divorces and I just prefer to stay way out of it –but," she added when she saw the defeated look on Wallace's face, "I'm not without my contacts. What kinda help do you want?"

Wallace shrugged and whispered – apparently he wasn't blind to the glances he was receiving for talking to Veronica, "I'm in a bit of trouble with some local biker gang and wondered if I could get some help to get out of it."

The teacher finally entered the classroom and immediately zoomed in on the talking Wallace and Veronica bent down and wrote a note to him, saying they should talk after class. When the class finally ended Veronica jumped up and began walking towards the door. _It's weird_ , she thought and looked behind her to make sure Wallace followed her, _I'm actually curious about something again and I want to help him out and I barely know the guy._ Veronica mentally rolled her eyes; _Lily will probably have picked out our wedding day within the week._

Veronica walked through the door and stopped dead. Just a few feet in front of her were Lily. _She looks murderous_ ; Veronica concluded and took in all the details of her friend's face. "You know," Veronica began and took a tiny step forward, "that vein in your forehead must run in your family – ever wondered if it's a dangerous one?"

Lily's face turned if possible an even darker shade of red at that question and she stomped the last few steps over to Veronica, who in return had to force herself to stay put. "Hi…" Veronica squeaked out when Lily seemed to struggle with the words. Veronica could see Wallace hovering by her side – obviously completely unsure of what to do to avoid the World War Three in the making.

The silence stretched on and Veronica couldn't take it any longer. "Okay," she exclaimed and ran a hand through her messy hair, "I'm sorry for threatening Duncan – Really! I don't know what came over me and I know it's wrong to went on people like that and," Veronica saw Lily take a deep breath and clench her hands to fists and suddenly an overwhelming panic flew into Veronica's empty stomach,"…I'm _really_ sorry Lily, please forgive me! I don't wanna lose you too!" Veronica blinked her tears away – desperate about the possibility that she might have pushed her best friend away.

Lily's flushed face paled rapidly and Veronica took a step back in something akin to fear. Then Lily frowned and got a very odd look in her eyes; again her hand seemed to have a will of its own as it traced the scar on her face. Finally, the Kane girl spoke, but the words made no sense to Veronica. "Oh Ronnie; _I'm_ the one who's sorry."

A second later, Lily had stormed forward and pulled Veronica into her arms with a loud sigh. Veronica stood immobile – a little afraid that her friend might have a fearsome payback planned, but Lily just began quietly muttering in her ear. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. You'll never lose me, honey."

Confusion filled Veronica and she gently pulled out of the embrace. "Then why were you so mad at me? You looked like you were about to burst for a second there."

Lily bit her lip – clearly stalling, but then she answered, "You're not entirely wrong about the bursting part Veronica. I was trying really hard not to howl in laughter. I mean, I didn't hear about the Donut thing until halfway through class and then I came out here and saw Luke stroll by with my dear little brother looking as though he was on guard duty or something. It was just hilarious, but I knew you'd tear me a new one if I laughed so I tried to keep in –but that was obviously the wrong plan."

Veronica gaped like a fish and Lily pointed that out to her after a few moments of silence with a smile on her lips. Veronica shook her head with a small smile herself, but then turned serious as Lily stated, "And just so we're clear Mars; Nothing short of death will make me leave your side."

The two girls looked deeply into each other's eyes and completely forgot about the fact that they were standing in a crowded hallway until Wallace brought them back to reality with a sheepish look in his eyes.

"Uhm…Veronica, you kinda told me to follow you – but if you need more time to…err, debate, I'll just wait till lunch."

Veronica hid yet another smile when Lily snapped out of the emotional moment and turned to Wallace with a beaming smile on her face, "All done now – So why are you following Veronica here? Am I missing something?" The sly look she sent Veronica made Wallace laugh out loud and Veronica rolled her eyes outwardly this time and answered, "Wallace needs my help with something and I was gonna show him our super duper private space. Wanna come?"

Lily tapped her chin with a finger and tried to look thoughtful – despite the twinkle in her eyes, "Hmm…will it possibly involve gossip, scandal and devious planning?"

Veronica glanced up at the still sheepish looking Wallace and answered her friend. "Definitely."

Lily's mock thoughtfulness vanished as she laughed and said, "Well, then I'm so there."

A few moments later, the unlikely trio stood in front of the girl's bathroom. Wallace eyed the closed door with trepidation and then said, "That's your super duper private space?" Veronica nodded without a fraction of emotion on her face and the much taller male shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

Veronica repressed her irritation at the hesitation and then swiftly opened the door and looked around. A couple of seniors stood by the huge mirror, gossiping. Veronica just caught the words, "…probably slept with him and that's why she interfered yesterday," before she cleared her throat to announce her presence.

The two girls froze and looked over at Veronica with that deer caught in the headlights expression on their faces. "Yeah," Veronica said blandly, "so I'm gonna go have a threesome in here – unless you wanna join in to make the fun even funnier, I suggest that you leave…now." When the girls didn't move Veronica heard Lily's exasperated sigh behind her before the Kane girl said, "My tiny friend here is too polite to just say it so I will. Beat. It! Shoo!"

Veronica and Wallace watched in both amusement and some part of disbelief as Lily effortlessly chased the other girls out and then put up the out of order sign on the door before she closed it.

"What?" she asked when neither Veronica nor Wallace did anything else then stare.

"Did I tell you lately that you rock?" asked Veronica with a half smile, but then in the next moment she turned to Wallace and demanded, "Tell me everything!"

Wallace sighed and began telling his tale.

Ten minutes later, Wallace exited the restroom with a look of cautious hope in his eyes and Veronica was once again battling some pretty heavy emotions. "I always told Dad to fire Lamb – he's totally incompetent," Veronica muttered after a pause.

Lily shrugged and began putting some more makeup on her eyes. "Yeah, well, he didn't. So now we have a poor wanna-do-the-right-thing kinda guy in trouble with the PCH'ers. And the Sheriff's department has to be involved if we wanna make sure Wallace get's out of this whole mess okay – let alone unharmed…"

Lily lowered her mascara brush to look closer at Veronica, who could practically feel the stare in her bones. "Are you sure you wanna get in the middle of this Mars? It's gonna be hard to not see your father at some point."

Veronica crossed her arms and looked away from Lily's penetrating eyes – and her own reflection, "Yeah, so?" she asked.

Lily raised an eyebrow and turned around to fully look at her, "So," Lily drawled out the word and continued, "you're the one who's been so hell bent on avoiding him at all cost these last few months, remember? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm actually thrilled to see you get involved in someone's life again. For the first time in ages you look like you are alive and all, but…"Lily stopped – not knowing how to finish the sentence.

Veronica didn't meet her friend's gaze when she softly asked, "Can't we cross that bridge when we have to, because I don't wanna deal with it right now." Her eyes lit up for a short second and Veronica added, "besides, I think I got a plan – but I'm gonna need a little help from you."

Lily crossed her arms in suspicion. "From me? What do you need?"

Veronica walked over to the sinks and looked at Lily thoughtfully before she finally answered, "Well, I'm gonna get Logan to help me get the tape from the storage room; he's got a bit more freedom in that area than I have. I'm gonna stake out our beloved deputy and…"

Veronica hesitated and Lily slowly asked with narrowed eyes, " _aaand_ what do I have to do?"

Veronica turned her head to the side and met her own gaze in the mirror. _Lily's right_ , she briefly thought, _I look a bit more alive than I normally do_ , _well let's just hope my request won't get me killed –_

"Hello earth to Mars!" Lily yelled in annoyance and slammed her hand down on the counter a second later. Veronica snapped out of her ponderings and full of unusual determination she said with a sweet tone of voice, "Okay. Seeing as the PCH'ers are kinda the root of the problem, I thought I'd let you talk with the one of them, who's actually not an idiot…?"

Outside of the restroom vice principal Clemmons was walking by with a firm grip on a student named Douglas a.k.a. Corny, whom he'd caught snoozing behind his car in the parking lot for the second day in a row, when a wail suddenly echoed through the doors loud enough to make him loosen his grip on the boy.

_"Are you out of your mind Veronica? **Him**? I hate you!"_

Corny looked stupidly up at the tall vice principal and asked unintelligently, "So…err, can I go now?"

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**


	6. Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya you awesome people :D I am loving that so many people are taking this story positively. I'm excited again and can't wait to hear what you think of the upcoming (over the top and way too cliched) drama :D
> 
> Have fun!

**CHAPTER FIVE: LILY  
**

Lily woke up feeling odd; it took her awhile to realize that the warmth by her side was another body _. Who is it?_ She thought groggily – no longer that used to waking up with any of her lovers, but then the memory of the previous day came rushing back and Lily sighed heavily and opened her eyes.

Her eyes zoomed in on Logan's back, which was turned to her and Lily swallowed a smile. _The little stalker- I wonder how long he's been staring at her?_ She was just about to tease her ex-boyfriend with his biggest obsession, when Veronica woke up and began teasing Logan just like old times.

 _I wish she hadn't made me promise never to tell Logan about her eating_ , Lily thought feeling a bit saddened by one of the many secrets in her life. Then she forcibly shook the gloom away and tuned back in to her friends' conversation and snorted.

A few minutes later Lily sat beside Logan and watched Veronica close the bathroom door. Lily glanced over at Logan – hoping that the male had noticed the skinniness beneath all the baggy sleepwear Veronica used, but judging from the slightly glazed over look of love in the male's eyes that was a vain hope.

"Logan?" Lily began slowly and grinned softly, when Logan flinched out of his thoughts and turned to her with a sheepish smile. "Mornin' Lily," he greeted. Lily rolled her eyes and decided to be frank for once, "So, how long did you stare at our little blond friend this time? Last time we spent the night here you looked like you hadn't slept at all."

 _Aw shoot, no blush this time_ , Lily thought with a half smile on her face and got out of the bed as Logan finally responded, "It's not like that Lily – It's not," he added a bit firmer, when Lily raised an eyebrow and stared him down, "oh – all right," Logan admitted and got out of the bed and began rummaging through his huge closet for something to wear. "I'm falling in love with her – but you already know that, so I won't go into detail."

Lily sighed heavily again and walked over to Logan and managed to rip his chosen shirt for the day out of his hands and replace it with something she knew would look a lot better on him while she simultaneously said, "I only know how you feel, because of the way you sometimes look at her – it reminds me of a time where you kinda looked like that at me." Lily smiled at the almost shy look in her ex boyfriend's eyes and continued matter of factly, "Of course it's obvious for me to see you're totally smitten with our little gal way beyond your old affections for me. And she clearly loves you too, so why don't you just pull your rich head out of your little firm backside and tell her that you wanna be with her?"

Logan put on the shirt Lily had given him and said as he ran a hand through his untamed hair, "It's not that simple. She's going through all those things with her dad and I'm sure she's still heartbroken over Duncan's stupid behavior…I mean, she looks kinda sick and tired every now and again."

Lily repressed the urge to scream in frustration, _of course she looks sick and tired – she i_ _ **s**_ _sick and tired moron_. Instead the Kane girl settled on some rarely used diplomacy and asked nonchalantly as she used Logan's comb to fix her morning hair, "Yeah –I noticed that too. Maybe you should sit her down and make her talk about it, don't you think? I mean, she listens to you more than me most times…"

Logan's eyes lit up for a second, but then dimmed in hesitation and Lily clenched her fist in annoyance. _He's gotta open his eyes and see her completely, before she goes too far. I can't get her to stop; God only knows I've tried my best…_

Logan's warm hand gently shook her shoulder and Lily started back into real life. "Where did you go just now?" he asked with a frown on his handsome face. Lily immediately broke into a huge smile and she said evasively, "I was just wondering if Veronica is gonna make good on her promise with the hot water, 'cause I gotta shower too, you know."

Before Logan could do or say anything else Lily marched over to the bathroom door and began pounding on it as she yelled for Veronica to hurry up.

Sometime later the trio was on their way to the school. Not entirely able to control herself Lily kept sneaking glances over at Veronica and her sad excuse of a breakfast. She only realized how annoying it had to be for Veronica, when the other girl discreetly rolled her eyes and took a huge spoonful of oatmeal with an almost vicious gleam in her eyes.

With in internal sigh Lily turned her head and looked out of the window _. I wonder how Duncan's doing this morning?_ She thought and scratched her nose. _Did Celeste manage to manipulate him into taking those stupid pills?_

Lily sighed out loud this time, but thankfully neither of her friends' seemed to notice. The reason her baby brother had to take those pills invaded her mind unwanted. He'd begun taking them after the accident – _after_ he tried to kill his father with his bare hands after he'd learned the truth about his dealings with Veronica's mother. Some part of Lily knew that this was the deciding factor for Duncan; everything that went wrong in his life could now be traced back to Veronica. _He really has a knack for hating the wrong people,_ Lily thought sadly.

The mental image of the pure rage in Duncan's eyes that night still haunted Lily and she quickly diverted her attention to her beloved cell phone. _Should I call him and see if he's gotten up okay?_ She pondered, but then she settled for a text message. **Up yet? C U at school Donut**.

In the next moment the car pulled into the parking lot at Neptune High and Lily looked up with a bit of surprise in her eyes. She'd barely noticed their drive. Just as she followed Veronica out the door, her phone beeped and Lily read Duncan's answering message. **Why do you care? You obviously didn't think of me last night. I had to spend the evening with mom and dad all alone. Thanks!**

"Everything okay?" Veronica's soft voice interrupted Lily's growing shock, anger and hurt and she looked up and locked eyes with her best friend. The concern for Lily's wellbeing was clearly written on Veronica's tired looking face and Lily just knew she didn't want to burden her friend with yet another description of her brother's stupidity. _I gotta make it seem like I don't ca_ re, she told herself.

With that in mind, Lily forced a bright smile on her face and answered casually, "Oh it's all good Ronnie. It's just my darling brother, who wants to know why I didn't drive him to school today? As if he didn't get Celeste's chauffeur to take him."

Logan's deep chuckle was unmistakable and a second later he said with his usual mocking tone of voice, "Well, there you have it Lils. Duncan Kane doesn't need you at his beck and call twenty four seven anymore. It's not like he appreciates you at all even when you _are_ around."

 _I can't believe he said that_ , was the recurring thought in Lily's mind and she felt an unusual warmth begin to travel up to her cheeks. Logan's smirk grew and Lily's temper began to flare in response, but before she could tear her ex-boyfriend a new one, Veronica spoke up, "I'm gonna be late for class – so let's talk at lunch, okay? Thanks for a nice morning."

A moment later she'd disappeared and Lily followed without looking back at Logan. Off course he didn't let her get away with her big exit and a few seconds later he was right by her side and he gently nudged her with his shoulder and muttered, "I got a big mouth sometimes – sorry." Lily looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes and smiled in return, and the whole discussion was forgotten.

Well, except for that tiny bundle of anger in the pit of Lily's stomach. As she walked into her first class of the day, she realized that she hadn't really been that mad at Logan – _more like mad at myself_ , Lily thought and unceremoniously stole a seat from a cheerleader, who was just about to sit down.

Lily simply looked the offended girl straight in the eye for a second, and then – just as she'd known it would happen– the cheerleader scoffed and walked over to another empty seat without a word. Lily smirked, happy to be a bitch again _. I so seldom get to be one nowadays_ , she thought to herself and began taking out her books and notebooks.

It wasn't until the teacher firmly told a few giggling girls off, that Lily noticed that her classmates looked a lot more hyper than usual. She scanned the room and then leaned a bit to the side and whispered to the guy sitting next to her, "What's going on?" The guy turned a fraction towards her and Lily realized the guy was Mark from the day before. Apparently he too remembered her – or the very least her close friendship with Logan Echolls, because the almost sneer immediately disappeared when his eyes landed on her. "Err," he began intelligently and continued, "that Mars girl almost killed your brother earlier."

Lily sat up straighter. "What?" she hissed – a bit too loud and the teacher sent her a glare before he continued his lecture of the day. Lily didn't care and whispered to Mark, "Tell me _everything_!"

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Lily ran out of her seat faster than she'd ever done before and a mere thirty seconds later, she stood outside Veronica's classroom. The other students eyed her with curiosity and the usual twinge of pity due to her physical appearance. Lily didn't even notice for once, she was busy watching the door for her friend.

A moment later, Veronica emerged, followed closely by that Wallace guy they'd helped the day before. Lily instantly noticed the lively twinkle in Veronica's eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. _Oh I wish I'd seen her go all out on Donut_. She thought and tried to hold her laughter in check when she saw the obvious apprehension Veronica got in her eyes when her blue eyes landed on Lily.

"You know," Veronica's voice sounded so hesitant and timid that Lily barely managed to keep in a very unladylike snort of laughter, "that vein in your forehead must run in your family – ever wondered if it's a dangerous one _?"_

 _Don't talk or else she'll catch on_ , Lily tried to warn herself, but she could feel the pressure rising inside of her. The thought of the teeny tiny Veronica pummeling her brother, who, although he was handicapped, was still a lot bigger than she was, was just so hilarious.

Lily took a deep breath and quickly walked over to Veronica, who squeaked out a greeting. Lily couldn't get her tongue to work properly and was about to finally reveal her amusement, when Veronica catapulted into a frantic rant. "I'm sorry for threatening Duncan – Really! I don't know what came over me and I know it's wrong to went on people like that and…I'm really sorry Lily, please forgive me! I don't wanna lose you too!"

 _Oh my God_ …The urge to laugh had completely vanished and Lily struggled to find words in the midst of her own shock. _She actually thinks…?_ Lily shook herself out of her shocked state of mind, when she noticed Veronica's tear filled eyes. "Oh Ronnie, I'm the one, who's sorry!"

Without another word Lily flew over to Veronica and hugged her tightly while she softly said, "I didn't mean to scare you like that. You'll never lose me honey."

To Lily's surprise Veronica stepped out of the embrace and asked, "Then why were you so mad at me? You looked like you were about to burst for a second there."

A small part of Lily couldn't understand how her once so confident friend could doubt their friendship and she was a bit frustrated by it to be honest, but the rational part of her quickly answered her friend and explained everything. Lily ended her explanation on a serious note as she stated calmly, "And just so we're clear Mars; Nothing short of death will make me leave your side."

The moment was heavy with emotions and neither of the girls really noticed what was going on around them, until Wallace's voice awkwardly said, "Uhm…Veronica, you kinda told me to follow you – but if you need more time to…err, debate, I'll just wait till lunch."

 _Hello there_ , Lily's old self purred inwardly to the black boy, who looked mighty fine in Lily's eyes. Fortunately she snapped out of her devious mindset before anything embarrassing could happen and she smiled brightly up at the tall male. Wallace's gaze never wavered from hers and once again Lily remembered why she had immediately liked the guy. _**He** doesn't look nauseated by my face_ ; she thought and said happily, "All done now – So why are you following Veronica here? Am I missing something?" Lily glanced over at Veronica and briefly pondered if she should wiggle her eyebrows suggestively to lighten the mood, but Wallace's laughter interrupted her.

Veronica added to the fun by rolling her eyes at Lily and then she explained with a rare note of happiness in her voice, "Wallace needs my help with something and I was gonna show him our super duper private space. Wanna come?"

 _Hell yeah_ , Lily thought, but decided to play the humor card a bit more. She tapped her chin and went for the thoughtful look as she asked cautiously, "Hmm…will it possibly involve gossip, scandal and devious planning?" Veronica looked up at the sheepish looking Wallace and then looked Lily straight in the eye and answered firmly, "Definitely."

Lily burst out laughing – she thoroughly enjoyed this livelier version of her best friend – and stated, "Well, then I'm so there."

The trio went into the super duper private space where Veronica filled Lily in on all the details.

Twenty minutes later, Lily was just getting into a _great_ rant mode when she noticed the strained look in Veronica's eyes. _She looks older than Celeste pre surgery,_ Lily thought- the usual pang of worry immediately came to life at the sight of Veronica's tenseness.

"Okay…I'll go talk to the moron." Lily finally conceded and was rewarded with a genuine smile from her friend. "But," Lily added and raised a finger, "if I somehow happen to kill him or any of his idiotic Pink Posse wannabees, you're gonna help me escape from the law. Understood?"

The bell rang before Veronica could do anything else than nod in mock seriousness and say. "I'll bake the bread and put the file in the dough myself – I swear." The two girls exited the restroom with a shared smile to each other and then went to their last class before lunch.

During her class Lily sat and was barely acknowledging people's stares and the teacher's babbling. She was too caught up in the fact that she was about to have a pseudo friendly conversation with a guy, who she'd once thought just might have been one she loved above all others.

Eli "Weevil" Navarro.

Lily placed her head in her arms and remembered the last time Weevil had talked to her before the accident. He'd come up to her on her way to class and before Lily could do anything, the biker had all but dragged her into the nearest available classroom with a devious smile on his lips. They'd had sex on the teacher's desk and when it had ended, Weevil had looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Lily sighed when her memory vividly conjured up the soft look in his almost black eyes. _But that's not how he looks at me now, is it_? Lily mentally reminded herself. _And just whose fault is that?_ Her conscience asked sourly.

Another memory, the one that had taken place just days after the accident, flew into Lily's mind. The look of pure horror and weak nausea on Weevil's face during his visit had been the last straw for Lily and she'd snapped and called the security guards to escort him out of her sight.

Except a few snide remarks here and there – the two of them hadn't spoken since…

 _But that's gonna change now_ , Lily told herself firmly, _Veronica_ _needs my help and it's the first time she's acted, well, human in ages and I'm not gonna let my pride get in the way of that. Besides, he's just another ex – and I've got plenty of those running around. Lily Kane is no chicken!_

When the class finally ended, Lily shot out of her seat, full of newfound determination and made her way out to the quad for lunch. Her eyes scanned the crowd and it didn't take more than a minute before her eyes zoomed in on the leather clad gang leader.

"Here goes nothing," Lily muttered and walked over to the PCH'ers lunch table. Weevil's second in command, Hector noticed her first and he elbowed the third in command, Felix, who followed Hector's eyes and spotted Lily. He quickly turned to Weevil, who was talking animatedly with someone Lily vaguely remembered was nicknamed Thumper. Felix whispered something in his leader's ear a second later.

Weevil instantly straightened up and turned around with an air of nonchalance about him, which Lily didn't buy for one second. "Kane," he said in his deep voice without really looking at her. Lily ignored the hurt she felt because of his reluctance to really look her in the eyes and crossed her arms as she said, "We gotta talk Eli."

Weevil's eyes narrowed and the other guys around him whistled and laughed, when he asked coolly. "Oh, so we gotta talk. What about sweetheart?"

Then all the PCH'ers stilled when Lily simply said, "Well, you see I just got back from a doctor's appointment - and the doctor told me to speak to all my--"

Weevil jumped up from the table and grabbed her arm and led her over to a more secluded area. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted Logan, who'd quickly risen to his feet after seeing Lily's current company - and more importantly the firm grip said company had on her arm. Lily shook her head and he slowly sat back down.

A second later, Weevil released her and said, "What the _hell_ is wrong with you Kane?"

Lily re-crossed her arms and answered. "Well, a whole lot of things – but the first on my list has to be the fact that I'm spending time alone with you again." Weevil's eyes darkened and Lily repressed the urge to take a step back, _he's not gonna intimidate me – I'm Lily Kane, Damn it!_

His voice was silky when he asked, "Then why did you seek me out in the first place if I gross you out so much?"

Lily borrowed Veronica's signature move and tilted her head in innocence, "'Cause I have to talk to you Eli – it's as simple as that." Weevil's upper lip curled when she said his first name. In the past she'd only used that name during their sexual encounters. "Then talk," he finally grumbled out and Lily smirked.

 _It's still so easy to press his buttons_ , Lily thought victoriously and said out loud, "Call off this whole childish vendetta you've got going on with the new kid." Weevil's eyes widened and then he burst out laughing.

Annoyance flared to life inside Lily and then she quickly hissed, "What's so funny?"

Weevil stopped laughing, but he kept smirking as he answered, "That kid should have known better than to cross us – so he's got it coming. My boys are in trouble 'cause of him so they deserve all the fun they can get." L

ily's sigh was heavy and she said angrily, "You're so stupid Weevil. He doesn't need your attitude when all he did was following the damned rules."

Weevil's smirk grew into something evil and he bent down a bit and said, "Oh, I see how it is. I gotta admit when I heard you were one of the people, who cut the fool down, I was confused. But," he added and straightened back up, "now it all makes perfect sense. He's your boy toy right? Well, no offence princess – just because you wanna protect the only one who'll sex your new you up nowadays, doesn't mean I gotta stop _my_ fun."

Lily felt the blood drain from her face and somehow she felt like crying in despair over the fact that her ex-lover thought she was ugly. There was a stabbing pain in her chest, but then Lily's true self came roaring to life. After all, she was the daughter of Celeste Kane, who –despite their massive differences – had taught Lily how to cut people down verbally. Lily took a deep breath and raised her head and forced Weevil's eyes to lock with hers as she quietly spoke, "That's right Navarro. I can't possibly wanna do the right thing without sex in the picture. I just can't stop my whoring ways."

Lily stopped before she fell for the temptation to scream in his face and turned to walk over to the waiting Veronica, but then she stopped and turned back around to the immobile Weevil. He had an odd almost guilty look in his eyes, but Lily didn't notice - too busy trying to rein in her temper. "Oh by the way," Lily slowly said, "I forgot something." And then Lily Kane threw her hand back and clenched her fist into a tiny ball and punched the leader of the PCH'ers right in the nose. "Have a nice day," she added politely and made her way over to the gawping Veronica – ignoring the fierce pain in her hand.

A moment later, she sat down in front of Veronica and took out an apple from her schoolbag. She took a bite and mutely chewed and swallowed it before she met Veronica's questioning gaze and stated. "So, the talk with Weevil didn't exactly turn things into our favor…"

Veronica wasn't her best friend for nothing – she easily spotted the emotional turmoil going on inside Lily and said gently, "It doesn't matter anyways. We'll manage."

A few minutes later, Logan appeared and sat down next to Lily without a word. He didn't say a word, but his presence soothed Lily and she placed her head on his shoulder with a sigh. _I can't wait to go home and sleep this stupid day away,_ she thought and watched Veronica slowly finish her salad in silence.

**0o0o0**

A few hours later, Logan dropped Lily off at the Kane mansion and she quickly made her way inside. Just as she set foot on the stairs Duncan's voice stopped her. "Why do you always insist on embarrassing me in school?"

 _This day started out so well_ , Lily thought tiredly and turned around. Duncan's self-righteous face jumped into her line of sight and Lily's barely repressed anger after Weevil's hurtful words came out with a vengeance. "Embarrassing _you_? I'm not the one who's so full of self-pity that I can't see the truth right in front of me. You're just so stupid Duncan; _I'm_ the one who's got a right to be embarrassed!"

Duncan blushed in anger and he retorted, "Yeah right! Do you even know what people say about you and those other two you keep hanging around? I…" He didn't get a chance to finish, because Lily simply turned around and walked up to her room without another word. _What's the point?_ She thought and threw herself onto her enormous bed with a sigh, _he's an idiot…_

Lily woke up a few hours later, when her cell phone brought her back into consciousness. "Hello?" she answered in a groggy tone of voice. A second later, all her drowsiness vanished when Veronica's frantic voice said. "Aaron came home today and found out about Logan's fight yesterday."

 _Oh no_ , Lily's heart rate increased – knowing full well what that meant for their male friend. "Where's he now?" They both knew she wasn't asking about Aaron's whereabouts.

Veronica answered without hesitation, "He's in my room. And Lily," she added seriously, "Lianne's taken my painkillers, so could you bring some?"

Lily had already begun packing her bag with the items needed and she said, "I'm on it. Just keep trying to see if he'll go to the hospital this time. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Two minutes later. Lily ran out her bedroom and past Duncan, who was on his way out of the elevator specially installed for him. "Where are you going?" he yelled after her. Lily didn't answer, she only looked at her brother, whose eyes took in the big bag and they widened with sudden knowledge. He reached inside his shirt pocket and withdrew a small bottle of pills, which he then threw to Lily.

Lily looked down at the label and saw that they were some of his strongest painkillers and she looked up at Duncan with surprise in her eyes. He smiled bitterly and wheeled away without a word.

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**


	7. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There be parental abuse in this here chapter.

**CHAPTER SIX: LOGAN  
**

Logan woke up feeling more content than he had in a long time. He felt warmth around him despite the fact that he had no covers over his tall frame. A smirk made its way onto his face and he opened his eyes. He glanced down to one side and saw Lily lying on her back with her mouth hanging halfway open. Logan couldn't see her scar because of the way her face was turned and for one brief moment he remembered all those mornings they'd woken up like this. _Well, not entirely like this,_ Logan corrected inwardly and turned his face the other way to look at his other guest.

Veronica was also lying on her back, but her head had somehow moved up to his arm. Her hair was hiding most of her face, and he gently reached out a hand and placed some of the hair behind her ear. He instantly regretted touching her, because she snorted violently for such a tiny person and turned her head away from his arm.

Logan sighed and carefully rolled on to his side so he could watch her more closely. In the soft morning light she looked absolutely stunning and Logan had to readjust his position to make sure she didn't wake up to something very unexpected. Logan rolled his eyes at himself with a smile and for a moment he allowed himself to try and figure out when exactly it was he'd fallen in love with Veronica Mars _. I've always loved her_ , he decided and eyed the way her hair slowly slid down from her face, _at first it was_ _like I would've loved having a sister, well, one that wasn't overly dramatic and phony like Trina_ , Logan amended with a small smile and added, _but that's not how I feel now..._

The way she'd looked the night of the accident suddenly flew into his mind. The way her eyes had blazed with determination – so much so, that he himself hadn't even noticed her own injuries. Logan sighed and blinked the internal image away. It didn't matter to him when he'd fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend's girlfriend, but he had – irrevocably so.

Suddenly Logan snapped back into reality, when Veronica softly whimpered and her eyes began moving rapidly behind her eyelids. Without thinking Logan gently caressed her cheek and muttered quietly into her ear, "It's okay Ronnie – you're not alone…" To his immense delight he noticed that his words calmed the blonde down and she happily carried on her adorable soft snoring.

Try as he might Logan couldn't take his eyes of her – this was the first time in a long while that he'd been able to have some quality time with her – at least this way she didn't fidget uncomfortably whenever people other than Lily and him were too close for comfort. This long uninterrupted staring time also meant that Logan couldn't ignore what his mind had been trying to tell him for some time now. Something was wrong with Veronica.

She was still beautiful, Logan doubted he'd ever see her as anything less, but even in sleep, it was easy to see dark circles beneath her eyes and he couldn't deny the fact that the hollowing of her cheeks was a clear proof of substantial weight loss. _I guess it's the whole Parent issue that's giving her stress_ , Logan thought and decided then and there to try and take Veronica's mind off her absent father and slutty mother. _I do know something about less than perfect parents_ , Logan admitted with a smirk.

Again his mind was brought back to reality by a soft movement from Veronica. She tensed and then blinked once and locked eyes with him for a long second. At first Logan swore he saw some kind of emotion in her bright blue eyes, but then they turned light with teasing, "What are you planning?" she asked and slowly looked up at the ceiling. Logan swallowed down his disappointment and began round number 324 of Veronica versus Logan banter.

A while later after he'd suffered through a both deep and somewhat embarrassing honest conversation with Lily; Logan drove them all to the school. Out of the corner of his eyes, Logan saw that Lily sent an unusual amount of looks at Veronica. Veronica in return suddenly looked a lot more exasperated than normally as she all but attacked her breakfast. Lily's sigh was soft as she quickly looked away. _I wonder what's going on?_ Logan thought curiously and rubbed his eyes. The memory of his conversation with Lily came sneaking back into his mind and Logan dove into it when he remembered the almost eager look in Lily's eyes.

_After he'd bantered with Veronica, he watched her go to the bathroom to freshen up. Logan's mind had been full of images of her in the shower the next few moments so he guiltily jumped when Lily spoke, "Logan?" He turned with a sheepish smile and said, "Mornin' Lily." To his surprise Lily rolled her eyes at him, but he didn't get a chance to ask questions, because the Kane girl bluntly said, "So, how long did you stare at our little blond friend this time? Last time we spent the night here you looked like you hadn't slept at all."_

_Logan fought back an embarrassed flush for a few long seconds and then firmly said, "It's not like that Lily – It's not," he added a bit louder when Lily raised her eyebrow at him. **Damn blonde and her perceptive ways** , Logan thought and finally admitted the truth in words, "Oh – all right." Feeling exceptionally vulnerable after his admission Logan walked over to his closet and began looking for something to wear as he continued quietly, "I'm falling in love with her – but you already know that, so I won't go into detail." **Please don't make me go into details…**_

_After a heavy sigh that Logan could almost feel in his bones, Lily effortlessly changed his chosen attire and stated, "I only know how you feel, because of the way you sometimes look at her – it reminds me of a time where you kinda looked like that at me." **Oh** …Logan felt the awkwardness in the room and didn't know what to say, but fortunately the persistent blonde by his side continued without embarrassment, "Of course it's obvious for me to see you're totally smitten with our little gal way beyond your old affections for me. And," Logan held his breath when Lily's eyes sparkled, "she clearly loved you too, so why don't you just pull your rich head out of your little firm backside and tell her you wanna be with her?"_

_Logan put on the shirt Lily had given him and said as he ran a hand through his untamed hair, "It's not that simple. She's going through all those things with her dad and I'm sure she's still heartbroken over Duncan's stupid behavior…I mean, she looks kinda sick and tired every now and again." Another look flashed in Lily's eyes – almost like anger directed at him and for the life of him, Logan couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong. Suddenly she deflated, grabbed his comb and said nonchalantly, "Yeah – I noticed that too. Maybe you should sit her down and make her talk about it, don't you think? I mean, she really listens to you more than me most times…"_

_Pure unmanly giddiness grew inside Logan's mind and he felt like laughing out loud, but then he remembered Veronica's sadness and anger the last time he'd tried talking privately with her. The night before in his car. **If I push her, she might not talk to me anymore** , the thought nearly broke Logan's heart, **I couldn't live with that** … Suddenly he realized that Lily hadn't scolded him for not answering her question and he looked down at her. She had a faraway look in her eyes and the comb was hanging unused in her hand. Logan frowned a bit in worry and gently shook her out of her thoughts. "Where did you go just now?" To his mild annoyance Lily immediately put on one of her fake smiles and said, "I was just wondering if Veronica is gonna make good on her promise with the hot water, 'cause I gotta shower too, you know." _

Suddenly Logan was torn out of his memory when he heard a car in the distance honk and to his shock he realized they'd almost arrived at the school. _Thank God I didn't run over someone_ , he thought. When they arrived at the parking lot a few seconds later, he managed to put his foot in his mouth and upset Lily over something as silly as her devotion to her brother. _Smart move buddy_ , Logan's conscience sneered as he watched Lily walk away from him in a huff _. Better fix this_ , he thought and ran after her - putting his earlier talk with Lily out of his mind for now.

Fortunately she accepted his apology and he quickly walked into his first class of the day. The class was boring as always, so Logan hardly bothered keeping tabs on the lecture his slightly bandana obsessed teacher was trying to get out. But then, after a few glances around the classroom, Logan realized that even for this class, the attention was severely lacking. He frowned and leaned a bit over to his side and nudged Dick. "What's going on?" he asked quietly. Then his world tipped upside down when Dick laughed loudly and said, "It's that tiny Mars chick – she went all Carrie on D.K, it was awesome. I'm telling ya I almost wet myself."

Anger immediately flooded Logan's entire being, he began to shake and pictures of Veronica's frail body danced in front of his eyes _. If he laid one finger on her_ … He grabbed his desk and clenched his hands on it so hard his fingertips turned white. "Dude, relax…" Dick's voice sounded far away and Logan took a deep breath, trying not to lose it in front of all his classmates. Finally with some small semblance of control over himself, Logan blinked and turned back to a now pale Dick. "Tell me everything," he demanded and the blonde male quickly did as ordered.

When the bell rang Logan flew out of the room in his haste to see if Veronica was okay. A moment later he noticed a large group of people and he walked up to them and saw that they were all busy eying Veronica and Lily. "…will make me leave your side." Lily's voice was soft and soothing and Logan released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Lily's got it under control; he thought and walked away from the other lingering witnesses. Despite his best efforts though, Logan couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that Veronica had gone to Lily. _Maybe she thinks I'll be on Duncan's side?_ Logan pondered, but then he shook his head _, no way – out of the three of us, she knows I'm the one, who's never failed to voice my opinion…_

Logan stopped and crossed his arms as his eyes landed on the very reason behind his thoughts. _Speaking of which…_ "Kane!" he yelled out and spared a quick internal thanks to the Heavens above for the lack of witnesses. Duncan stopped moving and nodded once to Luke, who stood beside him like a watchful guard dog. Logan slowly made his way over to his former friend and then sent his best death glare to Luke and ordered, "Go away." Luke's eyes widened and he quickly looked down at Duncan, who shrugged his approval, before he walked away.

Logan eyed the disappearing teen a second before he turned his attention back on Duncan. Logan bit back an urge to giggle like a schoolgirl, when he noticed the dark areas around the billionaire's throat. _When she gets mad, she really gets mad_ , he thought to himself. "What do you want Echolls?" Duncan's voice was a bit hoarse and this time Logan smirked evilly.

Duncan's eyes flashed with anger and Logan made his face look expressionless as he leaned forward and said slowly, "Be grateful she turned the tables on you Kane, because if you'd touched one hair on her head, I promise you, I'd have killed you."

Duncan leaned back in his chair and tried to give off an air of nonchalance – with poor success – and said, "I wouldn't have touched her. It won't happen again" Then he brightened and said just as evilly as Logan usually did, "Besides I don't like psychical fights, I'm not the one who gets his ass beat by my daddy whenever I've done bad. Which reminds me; has the principal informed Mr. Echolls about the fight yesterday yet?"

Logan gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to pound his hand into Duncan's smirking face and said, "Don't tell me you care for my wellbeing all of the sudden Kane? I'm touched…Now, to get back to the matters at hand; Leave Veronica alone and while we're at it; stop being a dick to your sister."

Duncan's eyes narrowed, but before he could say another word Logan had walked away. But if Duncan had been able to see his old friend's face, he'd have known he'd managed to rattle him for once, because Logan's face was paler than usual and his eyes were dark with wariness.

Logan had just realized that Duncan had had a point. Aaron Echolls would eventually find out his son had been making a fool of himself in public – and said son was not looking forward to when it happened. _Maybe this time he'll agree with me,_ Logan thought and entered his second classroom of the day, _he likes Veronica – maybe he'll think I did the right thing by defending her…_

The class went by fast and so did the next one and before Logan knew it, it was lunchtime and he walked with Dick and Beaver out to the quad. They'd already ordered some kind of take out, so Logan didn't bother going to the cafeteria.

As he sat down next to his 09'er "friends" Logan felt uncharacteristically uneasy. He knew he had problems with touch every now and again, but the way he felt at that moment was ridicules. Dick was more than two feet away from him, but Logan felt goosebumps on his skin just because there was a possibility the blonde might accidentally bump into him. _This is stupid_ , Logan thought with an internal growl. Then he spotted Veronica over at her usual table and immediately stood up. He gestured towards her so Dick and Beaver would understand his sudden departure and then walked over to Veronica.

On the way he recognized the black kid from the flagpole, who Logan vaguely remembered was named Wallace. _He looks all right_ , Logan decided as he got closer to the table. Wallace's eyes looked up and met his and in them Logan saw a hint of embarrassment and a large pool of gratitude for the assistance the day before. Logan instinctively knew not to mention the incident and turned on his rarely used charm. "Hi, I'm Logan. You're new here, right?"

Wallace's shoulders slumped in relief before he quickly nodded and introduced himself. Logan smiled and sat down next to Veronica. In the back of his head, Logan knew it was odd that it was only Veronica who never made his skin crawl. Even Lily on occasion bothered him. "So," Veronica's melodic voice interrupted his thoughts and Logan looked down at her, "I was actually gonna talk to you later. I need your help."

Logan nodded, "Sure, what's up?" _Please say you need someone to be your second opinion when you go to the lingerie store_ … "Logan!" Again Logan was ripped out of his now not entirely R-rated thoughts and he smirked and he hoped that he didn't look to obvious. "I'm here," he said and Veronica shook her head at him.

She picked up a roll from her tray and began shredding it to small pieces as she explained Wallace's situation to him. Then she sighed and looked up at him with serious eyes, "So, I told you this 'cause I need a helping hand, Logan. I need that tape, but I'm sort of persona non grata at the Sheriff's department these days," Logan noticed the shadows in her eyes and wisely said nothing as she continued with fake enthusiasm, "which is where you come in. I'm gonna get a little help from Corny and after we've placed that help in Duncan's locker, I need you to go down to the police department and find the tape in the evidence room. I tried talking to one of Keith's friends from the fire department, but he thinks I'm just out to play a trick on the old man, so he's not gonna help me."

Logan crossed his arms and glanced over at Wallace, who looked sad at the fact that Veronica didn't have the greatest relationship with her father and Logan's opinion of the guy grew a few inches. He sighed and looked back at Veronica as he asked, "I'm guessing there's something or other in that "help" from Corny that's gonna make an awful fuss and that I'm gonna be conveniently placed in the midst of it all so I can go in and retrieve the tape." Veronica nodded and broke out into such a relieved smile, that Logan didn't even hesitate with his agreement. "I'll go after school tomorrow." _And maybe I'll finally get some answers from Mr. Mars himself_ , he added silently.

Veronica smiled and set down her utensils and gently punched him on the shoulder in thanks. Logan smiled and was about to tease her about her weak arms, but she suddenly looked away and frowned. Logan followed her gaze and immediately stood up – ready for anything at the sight of Weevil Navarro touching his ex - girlfriend, but then he slowly sat back down when Lily shook her head at him to leave her alone with that Weevil guy.

A few moments later Logan realized Veronica hadn't touched her food and gently nudged her in the side. "Aren't you gonna eat that?" he asked and narrowed his eyes a fraction when he saw her guilty glance towards the now arguing Lily. "Err…I'm not hungry at the moment Logan – I sort of promised Lianne to save room for some lasagna tonight. Between you and me I think she's guilty about that Jake thing." Logan nodded in agreement.

Dick's voice suddenly called for his attention and he looked over and saw that the food had arrived. He kissed Veronica's cheek in goodbye; nodded at Wallace and quickly walked back over to the 09'er table to eat his lunch. A minute later he spotted Lily going back to Veronica with an almost sad look on her face and he took a box of Chinese and walked over and sat down next to her – ignoring the small discomfort he felt by her close proximity. Only after he'd finished his meal and was halfway through his next class, did Logan realize that Veronica had totally distracted him from her lack of food by using the bad parent card. _Hmm..._

After school ended and he'd dropped off his passengers, Logan drove home. He spotted both his parents cars in the driveway and hoped they were too busy to deal with his arrival. He felt tired and he knew he needed a good night's sleep so he could successfully help out Veronica the next day.

He opened the door to the house and walked into the hall. Logan sighed in the silence and ran a hand through his hair. He winced when the movement caused his barely healed injuries to announce their presence again. _I'm gonna take a few pills and then it's straight to bed_ , Logan decided. A small unacknowledged part of him hoped that his pillow still smelled like Veronica.

"Hello Logan," the deep voice immediately made Logan's body freeze. _This day started out so well_ , he briefly thought before the voice spoke again – instantly recognizing the dark tone in the hated voice, "As you know, I was away today working very hard to keep our lifestyle the way it is. Then I got a call from your principal – imagine my surprise when I found out that my son has been fighting in school and didn't even tell me…Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Aaron's voice sounded closer and his face materialized out from the dark shadows in the unlit hallway. Logan fought back the urge to flee. Deep down he knew if he stopped being so afraid of his father, they would be more than equals in a fight, but there was just something about that deep menacing voice that caused his insides to twist together and his heart rate automatically increased when his father was near him. _And there's the little fact that I'm not totally recovered from our last "conversation"_ , Logan thought bitterly.

The silence grew and Logan knew his father expected some kind of apology. He clenched his jaw and slowly said, "I can explain that, Sir, I…" Aaron's voice interrupted him before he could finish his sentence, "I don't care what childish reason you've got for fighting in school – publically no less. I will not have it!"

Logan didn't get another chance to speak, because Aaron backhanded him so hard that his entire body tumbled to the side. Logan reached out and grabbed the wall to keep himself upright. Apparently that didn't suit his father because a moment later Logan felt another hard hit in his side and this time he did fall down. The pain flared to life – the stroke was in the exact same place as the day before and Logan knew his father did it on purpose.

"I'm not pleased Logan!" Aaron informed him and swiftly kicked his son in the stomach. Logan couldn't keep a pained groan from escaping his lips and he cursed his weakness. _I should be used to this by now_ , he thought, just as he heard his mother emerge on the stairs. "Aaron! No!" she screamed, but Aaron simply roared, "Don't interfere Lynne – he's been humiliating this family and I won't have it!"

Logan swallowed down his disappointment when he saw his mother's figure disappear again - albeit hesitantly. _Probably on route to the nearest alcohol cabinet_ , he thought. Then Aaron's voice sounded again and Logan's temper began to grow, "And what do you think those two friend's of yours think of all your fighting? It's not a nice thing to do!" Each word was followed by a hard kick and Logan felt blood in his mouth and realized he'd bitten his tongue to keep himself from making a sound.

"Those girls shouldn't be allowed around you when you act like this! It's undignified." Aaron's lecture continued, but finally – and for the first time in a long while – Logan had had enough. He knew that if he just kept quiet then Aaron would stop in a matter of minutes, but his temper and his pride wouldn't allow it.

Logan rolled away from the next kick and jumped to his feet – full of adrenaline as he sneered, "I'm not the one acting undignified here Dad." Logan wiped the blood from his bleeding nose and continued, "I don't hit people, who doesn't deserve it and especially people who can't fight back." He gestured mockingly at his own trembling form and smirked despite his agony.

Aaron's eyes darkened in rage and a second later he flew at him. Logan managed one good punch, before Aaron's longer arms grabbed him and full on punched him in the stomach. Logan went down hard – gasping for air that wouldn't come. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his father crouch down and heard him mutter, "I wish you didn't force me to do this, son." Logan gasped out a response without looking at his attacker, "Veronica was being threatened –that's why I fought…"

The words sounded abnormally loud in the hall and Logan knew that his explanation had finally been heard. "Oh," Aaron's soft exclamation almost sounded embarrassed. If Logan had had any breath left, he'd have laughed at the insanity of it all. He'd been beaten by his abusive wife beating father for fighting in school, but as soon as Aaron found out that his son had played the knight in shining armor, the beating stopped.

Logan spat out some of the blood in his mouth and tried to focus on breathing instead of the pain. Aaron's voice – now soft and gentle – reached him a moment later, "Your mother and I are going to a premiere tonight, so…" Logan smirked inwardly when he heard his father sigh and then felt him place some money in his clenched hand. _At least I don't have to worry about another round this month_ , he thought mockingly. It had been a long time since Aaron's guilt had been severe enough for him to pay Logan off. But whenever it did happen, Logan knew his father wouldn't touch him for a while after that. _Blessing in disguise I guess_ , he thought – still concentration hard on getting enough air into his lungs.

Finally he was able to breathe long breaths and then all the other injuries from the beating announced themselves. Throbbing and burning pain was all he could think about and Logan sighed – trying to go outside himself so he could go to his room. He felt like crying, but he'd be damned if he'd shed a tear around Aaron Echolls. _The bastard's had enough pleasures for today,_ Logan thought and then excruciatingly slow, he got to his feet.

Suddenly, the world swirled around him and he almost fell down again. _It's not safe to be alone tonight_ , Logan realized and before he even understood it, his feet moved and he was inside his car and on his way to the one person, whose presence always soothed him.

Before he exited his car, Logan took a look in the rearview mirror and cringed. Half dried blood was all over his face and he could already detect the swelling in his face from the punches. _I'm afraid to look anywhere else_ , he thought and finally got out of the car.

He'd only knocked once before Lianne Mars opened the door. She was wobbly and absolutely drunk. Her eyes barely looked at him before she turned around and walked back to the living room, nursing a bottle of cheap vodka in her arms. "Veronica, Logan's here!" was all she of the politeness, she managed to dig up from her intoxicated state.

A second later – or so it seemed like for Logan – Veronica stood before him with cool fingers on his burning face and all he could think was, _now I'm safe_.

And then, as if being around her gave him permission to let go, all the adrenaline in his body vanished and Logan felt his legs crumble under him. He sank to the floor. "I'm so tired of this," he croaked out and began to cry – hating himself for the weakness, but unable to stop. "He hasn't made me cry in years," he muttered and coughed. He could taste the coppery taste of blood and he felt it trickle out of his mouth. Logan felt his sight blur and all he could see was Veronica's pale, scared-looking face. "Don't be afraid, Ronnie…"he muttered and leaned into her embrace.

"Logan!" Veronica's voice brought him back and he blinked a few times. The pain intensified and he moaned. "Logan, I've called Lily – she's on her way with some painkillers, but I need you to get up and go with me to my room. Come on…"

Logan blinked and forced himself to move. His mind was blank and he knew he passed out several times – because the next thing he heard was Lily's voice.

"Echolls, you need to take these…"

He felt her warm hand press a couple of pills in his mouth and instinctively Logan dry swallowed them. "'m 'kay," he mumbled.

"Sure you are," Veronica's whisper reached him loud and clear. Logan wanted to smile, but the pain made it impossible - just as darkness claimed him again, he settled for saying, "At least the day began on a good note…"

When he came back into to awareness Logan groaned. The pain hadn't lessened one bit, but he quickly saw that it was still dark out and that he wasn't needed for school just yet. _I'll take whatever blessings I can,_ he thought grimly.

"Hey," Veronica's voice distracted him from his pain and he could just make out her shape next to him on the queen-sized bed, "Lily went to your home to get some clothes. She'll be back soon. Are you feeling any better?"

Logan didn't nod – from experience he knew that wouldn't exactly help his headache, but he smiled a half smile instead and answered, "I'm fine. You know how resilient I am."

Veronica's sigh was loud and she leaned closer. "Are you gonna tell me why this happened so I can help you?"

Logan looked away from her caring expression and asked, "Are you gonna tell me what happened with your dad, so I can help _you_?"

Veronica flinched and Logan sighed. "I didn't think so…"

A moment later, he felt her cool hands on his own and let out a relieved sigh _. At least she didn't get mad_ , he thought. "Go back to sleep Logan," Veronica said after a few minutes of silence. "I'm gonna be right here all night."

Logan licked his cracked lip and glanced over at the woman he loved. It wasn't the first time he'd come to her in this state, and over the last few times, he'd discovered that he only truly relaxed when she was the one by his side. _I didn't know she knew though_ , he thought with a twitch of embarrassment.

Then he felt her hands tighten around his in reassurance and with a tired sight Logan closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pains in his body. Just as he'd almost fallen asleep, Logan heard Lily enter the room. "How is he?" she whispered and he heard Veronica's sigh.

"He won't let me help him with Aaron…He's too stubborn to see that it might kill him someday."

Lily's voice sounded closer when she replied, "Yeah – he's stubborn all right. But at least he's not the only one who won't see how close death is around here." This time Veronica's sigh was aggravated and Logan frowned as she spoke, "Could we not do this now, Lily?"

Logan didn't hear the Kane girl answer, his body gave out and he finally passed out, hoping he'd remember to ask what was going on the next day.

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm. I hope this chapter doesn't scare you off - It's not a fluffy story and it's gonna be a while yet before things turn around. That said, I hope you're all enjoying the story.   
> Until Next Time!


	8. Veronica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to those who not only read my work but take the time to throw me a comment or two. They make my day so much brighter :D   
> That said, I hope you don't find the triple POV's too repetetive, I try to throw something new into each one, so...well, I hope you'll keep enjoying my little story :D

**CHAPTER SEVEN: VERONICA  
**

Veronica's morning was busier than usual. She'd woken up early lying next to a sleeping Logan after nightmares had infested her dreams. The first thing she did was check how Logan was doing and she winced. Bruises around his bare chest – some yellow and old, some fresh – made him look like he'd been beaten by a pole. A part of her mind did wonder if Aaron had in fact done just that.

Before she'd been able to dive too deep into those depressing thoughts, Logan's eyes suddenly snapped open. At first they'd burned her with their vulnerability and there was something in his look that made Veronica shiver internally. Then he blinked and it was gone.

"Mornin' tiny," he muttered groggily and slowly sat up with a wince of pain. "Here, let me help you," Veronica said and helped the much larger male sit up. "Thanks," Logan mumbled and walked over to the small mirror next to Veronica's wall of the past: A huge picture collection of her life, pictures she'd taken herself with her uncanny ability to always snap the most amazing photos.

Veronica watched Logan's silent assessment of his injuries. After a short minute she got up herself and silently walked out to the kitchen, grabbed a pack of ice from the freezer and returned to her room and handed it to a grateful Logan. On the surface Veronica was happy that her mother had been so drunk the night before, it meant that Logan didn't have to answer any unwanted questions and thereby put himself first in line for another beating. But that wasn't the biggest thing on Veronica's mind. A part of her kept viciously promising herself, _I'm gonna make Aaron Echolls pay for this._

A few moments later they walked out to the kitchen and Veronica poured some cereal into a bowl and placed it and a bottle of milk in front of Logan and said, "you better eat – your body is gonna need all its strength to fix all that," she waved her hand in front of the faint bruising visible on Logan's neck. Logan smirked his signature smirk and poured the milk on the cereal as he said calmly, "yeah I guess you're right. I'm just happy that Aaron stopped before he ruined my handsome face. Picking up chicks would be such a hassle with a black eye or two. Doable, 'cause I'm gorgeous, but still…"

Veronica rolled her eyes and took a bottle of orange juice out of the refrigerator. She filled up two glasses. Instinctively she smelled the juice and took a small sip from her own glass. She'd learned the hard way never to gulp down any liquid in this house of drunkenness. _Living with Lianne Mars has its perks though_ , Veronica thought with an inwardly smile and gave one of the glasses to an eating Logan. _I'll never have to pay some dude over 21 to grab some beers in a store._ Veronica took a deep breath and released it slowly as her mind kept going down a less cheerful road, _not that I'd ever drink again. Last time I did that I supplied Lianne – or more precisely Jake's lawyers with enough ammo against dad that-_

"Veronica?"

Veronica flinched and blinked back into the present time. Logan was looking at her with narrowed eyes. "What? I was just thinking," she answered defensively before he could say anything about her lack of alertness. After a short pause Logan said, "I just asked if you weren't gonna eat? There's more than enough for two here and I doubt Lianne is feeling well enough for food yet."

Veronica ignored her quick flash of guilt for lying and quickly answered with a seemingly careless shrug, "Nah, I was up earlier and ate a bowl of my own. I'm not hungry for more yet. So," she hurried to change the subject away from eating, "are you gonna go to school today? It's still early so if we hurry, we can make it in time."

There was another long pause. Veronica swallowed down some nerves when Logan's observant eyes scanned her more thoroughly and then glanced over at the sink where there was no evidence from her supposed breakfast. Veronica instantly formed a lie about having washed it so Lianne didn't have to, but before she could say anything of the sorts, the door to her mother's bedroom opened and Lianne appeared.

 _She looks like shit_ , Veronica's blunt mind thought. And Lianne did indeed look less than perfect. Her long blond hair was in disarray and there were traces of mascara all over her face as though she'd wiped the makeup repeatedly. Her eyes were bloodshot and narrowed protectively so the faint sunlight wouldn't hurt her more than it should.

"Oh hello mother of mine." Veronica said – almost shouting. The satisfaction she got from watching her mom wince in pain was almost indecent, but somehow Veronica couldn't seem to care. "Are you hungry?" she continued with false concern laced in her voice. "I can whip something up for you in a second mom. I could make scrambled eggs – I know you like the squeezy softness of it. Or perhaps a smoothie to settle your stomach? I think there's some fruit I can use. Hang on for a sec."

Before Lianne had a chance to do anything but turn a tad green at the mention of food, Veronica had managed to plug in the blender and she'd grabbed some fruit from the counter and began chopping them into small pieces. Lianne finally managed to form the words, "You don't have to go through so much trouble honey," before she watched with obvious horror as Veronica turned on the roaring sound of the machine in front of her. "What?" Veronica yelled when she saw Lianne mouth something out of the corner of her eyes, "I can't talk right now mom, I gotta have this done before I'm off to school."

A moment later the noise got to Lianne and she promptly turned around and sought peace from her bedroom. The minute she closed the door behind her, Veronica stopped the blender and smiled innocently to a smirking Logan. "What?" she asked. Logan's smirk widened and he just shook his head, "remind me never to piss you off."

Veronica just laughed and said, "Duly noted. So finish up here and I'll get dressed and we can stop by your house to get some fresh clothes for you before school." Logan nodded and dove back into his breakfast.

A little while later Veronica and Logan had stopped by the Echolls mansion and to no surprise they'd been met by a somber Lynne, who'd already held out a bag of clean clothes. Logan only nodded mutely, kissed her cheek and turned back out. He didn't notice that Veronica didn't immediately follow him – he was too eager to leave his house.

Veronica waited until he'd left the hall and turned to Lynne with ice in her eyes. Lynne actually stepped back at the sudden fierceness in the little fragile looking girl in front of her. "Next time," Veronica said slowly, "I'm not gonna ignore this." Lynne nodded after a short second and answered softly, "I know. Just remember that he's more dangerous than you think…" Veronica nodded seriously and placed a hand on Lynne's arm. "Consider going to my dad. He can help you, I know he can. He's the best there is."

Lynne's eyes widened and Veronica knew she was about to ask why she thought so highly of a man, she no longer had any contact with. "I'm gonna be late for school. Have a nice day, Mrs. Echolls," Veronica quickly said and hurried out the door. _I hope she goes to dad. He likes Logan…at least he used to._

Before long Logan and Veronica arrived at Neptune High. Veronica had barely exited the car before Lily ran up to her and said, "Boy am I glad you're here. I thought you were gonna be late. Hey Logan," she said off handedly and dragged off with the smaller Veronica without another word to him. "So, I didn't get a chance to tell you everything regarding the incident yesterday – Oh and by the way Weevil the Evil is a humongous jerk, so I might just need your help taking him down a peg or two and—" Veronica smiled and let her friend drone on _. It's nice that Lily keeps me sane in all this darkness_. "Lily," Veronica interrupted when they stopped in front of her locker, "I'm gonna be late for my appointment with Corny. Talk later?" Lily pouted, but nodded.

A few minutes later Veronica exited an empty classroom with an evil smirk on her face. _Now I only need to make an anonymous call to the Sheriff's department and the plan is off._

When the plan finally did launch Veronica was waiting just within sight of it all. Beside her Wallace was fidgeting. "If you can't stomach this, you might wanna turn around hot stuff," Lily stood next to his other side and she sent a teasing smile his way. The tall basket player straightened up and replied with an air of pride in his voice, "I'm in for all of it. So sue me for not liking the fact that I'm setting up a crippled dude…"

Lily rolled her eyes so violently that Veronica briefly worried that she was having a seizure. "He's my brother, so your morals are nowhere near as dented as mine are. Just relax and enjoy the show." Lily stepped in beside Veronica a second later and whispered seriously, "I'm actually looking forward to see how much the numbing pills are gonna work when he gets emotional…" Veronica smiled, "yeah me too."

They didn't get a chance to talk further for in the next moment they spotted Vice Principal Clemmons and a deputy named Sacks strolling up to the locker they knew belonged to Duncan. Veronica repressed a smile when she noticed that the police dog by the deputy's side suddenly whimpered and turned his head in her direction. "Good boy," she whispered softly. She had great memories attached to that dog. He'd lived in the Mars household as a puppy. She and her dad had had a lot of fun training him. Before she could feel too saddened by those thoughts, Veronica felt Lily's hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze and pulling her back to the now to watch the show.

Five minutes later Sacks wheeled off with Duncan, whose stony façade had crumbled a bit as he hissed threats and promised retribution. Clemmons looked mortified and disappointed over the prospect of losing his straight A student to drugs. When they passed Veronica, Lily and a still nervous looking Wallace, Duncan's eyes widened in realization and he roared, "Veronica I'm gonna get you back for this! Haven't you ruined my life enough? Bitch!"

"Hey Donut, stop yakking," Lily's protective side flared to life, "it's not safe to keep your mouth open in jail and while we're at it – Don't bend down for soap, bubblebutt!"

Veronica shook her head – half of her was extremely amused over Lily's unembarrassed words of wisdom to her little brother and the other half felt hurt by Duncan's parting words and the almost feral glare he sent her way before he was taken away for questioning. _He really does hate me_ , Veronica thought and felt the weight of a guilt on her shoulders that she really shouldn't have been carrying. Then she sighed and turned around to a laughing Lily and Wallace, whose nerves seemed to have calmed a great deal after Duncan's departure, and said with a bright smile, "Phase two begins after school. Logan's gonna get the tapes and then hopefully by the end of this day, things will be resolved. Now," Veronica added, "let's get back to class."

The sun almost blinded Veronica as she turned in her seat in Logan's x-terra. She fidgeted and sighed as she waited impatiently for her friend to finish his bit in Wallace's case. The never ending pain in her empty stomach couldn't even distract her from her immense boredom. _I did demand to tag along_ , Veronica told herself with a wide yawn. After another couple of minutes Veronica looked down at her hands, checked her nails, and made a mental note to get them cut, before her head snapped up when the car door suddenly opened.

"It's done," Logan's deep voice said. Veronica frowned a bit at his tone of voice. Then she looked closer up at him when he started the engine and drove away from the police station. His brown eyes were darker than usual and his lips were tightly closed. Veronica looked down at his hands, which were wrapped firmly around the steering wheel, and noticed that his fingers were almost completely white. _Somebody's maaad_ , Veronica thought. _Better try the direct approach_ , she added mentally, when the silence stretched on, and asked softly, "What happened in there Logan?"

Logan barely glanced over at her when he answered evasively, "Nothing – everything worked just like you said it would."

Ignoring the praise – and rather obvious attempt to change the subject – Veronica crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow in polite disbelief. "Right…Now what really happened?" she asked bluntly.

Logan shifted gears and said through gritted teeth. "Nothing that you need to worry about okay. I got the tapes and that's really all you need to know."

Veronica felt strangely hurt by the harsh tone. Logan used that tone a lot in school whenever he wanted to annoy someone – _especially_ Duncan Kane – but she'd almost never heard it directed at her. The hurt transformed into annoyance and she said sourly, "Fine – I just thought we didn't have secrets between us, that's all…"

This time Logan did turn his head to look at her. The look in those eyes sent unfamiliar shivers down Veronica's spine. "That's funny coming from you," he sneered. Veronica fought down the urge to flee at the angry words and sneered right back, "Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean Logan?" Logan's grip on the wheel tightened further as he pressed down on the accelerator and answered in a yell, "It's supposed to mean that I'm not the only one keeping secrets around here! There's a ton of things you're not telling me too Veronica! Stop being such a hypocrite! You're too caught up in your own misery to see that I can be trusted!"

Veronica wanted to scream something rude at him, make him pay for saying she didn't trust him; Him and Lily were the only ones in the world she trusted, but despite the fact that her mind wanted to roar in anger, her body was petrified with fear.

In his anger Logan had forgotten one of the simple rules regarding Veronica's ability to be inside a moving vehicle. Don't _ever_ drive fast.

Veronica started to struggle with her breathing and she couldn't move for a long moment. Then she managed to get her trembling hands over to the door handle and she grabbed hold of it and began twisting it down – desperate to vacate the speeding car _. I'm suffocating, I can't_ …Veronica's mind was completely chaotic in its fear and when she suddenly heard Logan swear profoundly, it sounded very far away. She felt the car swerve to the sidewalk and pull to an abrupt stop, but still Veronica couldn't free herself from the claustrophobic feeling in her body. _I can't breathe_ , she thought and her frantic gasping turned into gagging sobs.

Suddenly, she felt Logan's strong arms around her and he effortlessly carried her out of the car and onto the sidewalk where he sat down with her in his arms. "I'm so sorry Ronnie; please relax – come on baby, breathe. It's gonna be all right; deep breaths, come on Ronnie…"

Logan's soothing voice and his gentle embrace slowly calmed Veronica down and when she got her breathing and fear under some kind of control she hid her face in Logan's broad shoulder and wept without a word.

Veronica didn't know how long they sat there. But eventually she stopped crying and Logan sighed and released her from his grip. He got to his feet and helped her up as well. "I'm sorry," he whispered once more and Veronica – eager to get back to normal – wiped the drying tears of her face and said with a weak grin. "I think you mentioned that Echolls…Now, let's get to the Fennel house, I bet he's desperate to know if we succeeded."

Logan nodded with a soft look in his eyes and got into the X-terra without another word. Veronica's grip on the seat was tighter than normal, but if he noticed it, he didn't say anything, which Veronica was very grateful for. _I really have to get this thing under control_ ; she thought and bit her lip as Logan began the slow ride to Wallace's place. _I can't be driven around in snail speed the rest of my life after all. I'm gonna beat this! If I don't it might come back to bite me in the butt._

When they arrived at Wallace's house, they quickly revealed that the tapes were theirs and Veronica grabbed them and took them home to edit them before they all were gonna meet up in the small courtroom where the case would finally be over.

When Veronica entered the building she felt nerves that could match Wallace's without even trying. Logan and Lily walked by her sides – silently lending her their strength and she loved them for it, but it didn't change the fact that today she would come face to face with her father for the first time in ages. They went through the doors and slid almost unnoticed into some empty seats to watch the proceedings.

Veronica quickly scanned the room and exhaled a deep breath of both relief and sadness. _He's not here_ ; she realized and leaned back in her seat with a heavy sigh. _No reason for the nerves then, 'cause this is gonna end just like I predicted…Don Lamb, my father's so called loyal deputy is going down._

When they showed the tape from the night of the robbery and it turned into a porn flick, Veronica couldn't help but smirk evilly over at Don Lamb, whose eyes were already trained on her. Apparently he recognized her handy work.

After that it didn't take long for the judge to release the two PCH'ers, who whooped in joy and stopped sending threatening glares in Wallace's direction. Veronica smiled and watched Lily and Logan congratulate Wallace, who looked extremely relieved.

Veronica smiled her own congratulating smile at the tall teen and turned to Lily and said, "I'm gonna go outside and wait for you – I need a bit of fresh air." Lily nodded and turned her attention back to Wallace, whose grin kept growing at her attentions.

 _Maybe Wallace could be good for her?_ Veronica thought, and remembered that he was one of very few people, who never once looked uncomfortable around Lily's scar, but then she recalled the look in Lily's eyes the previous day after the talk with Weevil. _She hasn't told me everything there is to know there_. Veronica shook her head at herself, _Logan is right – I shouldn't keep pressuring other people to tell me everything, when I have so many secrets of my own…_

"Veronica…" The sound of her father's gentle voice stopped Veronica's body completely and she quickly turned around with wide fearful eyes. _There he is_ , she thought and took in all his features in one long glance. His eyes were full of unshed tears and she noticed that he looked thinner than she remembered, but the largest difference was his eyes. They looked ancient and tired. Veronica recognized those eyes, because she stared into them every time she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Daddy," she whispered in the silence. Another quick look around told her they were alone for once and without thinking, Veronica leapt into her father's waiting arms and he almost crushed her skinny body in his own eagerness to hold her close after such a long time.

"Sweetie I love you so much I…" They both heard the door behind them open and Veronica pushed her dad away and turned around and ran away without a word. The scent of her father still lingered in her nose and Veronica hugged herself in an attempt to keep his smell on her. Her heart pounded frantically and despite her fear that they'd been seen, Veronica couldn't help but savor the memory of finally touching her father again.

"Are you okay, Veronica?" Lily's frightened voice interrupted Veronica's thoughts and she jumped around to find both Lily and Logan staring at her with concerned eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica saw her dad was now glaring at an embarrassed and furious-looking Lamb as they got into the waiting police car and she sighed. With a lot of effort Veronica turned her longing for another crying session into a small reassuring smile and stated, "I'm fine. Now let's go celebrate."

Several hours later, the trio and Wallace were at the beach. Veronica watched as Logan and Wallace teased Lily and had an all round good time for once. _Why can't I just get up and cut loose for once too?_ The blonde thought with a shuddering sigh. She felt a stab of pain in her stomach and realized that she hadn't eaten anything the entire day. _I better get something to stop the growling stomach from revealing that fact to Lily_. Veronica grabbed Lily's discarded summer jacket next to her and took out a pack of mint gum. She took a few and put the pack back and leaned forward so her chin rested on her knees. The memory of the pain in her dad's eyes still haunted her. _One day I'll sort everything out and I'll make them pay – I swear. But first I'm gonna try to live a little._ She decided and with another loud release of air from her lungs Veronica stood up to walk over to her friends.

"Yo Mars."

The deep voice stopped Veronica from following plan and she turned around with a raised brow. "Yes Mr. Navarro?" she said with fake cheerfulness in her voice. Weevil's eyes glinted and Veronica recognized the look of reluctant respect in his eyes. After a little pause the biker leader said, "I know what you did for my boys and I wanted to thank you and-".

"Don't," Veronica interjected calmly. "I didn't do it for _you_."

Weevil's eyes turned more serious and he said, "I know, but I'm thankful despite that fact. So you wanna give me the tape to avoid future cases like this?" He lifted his chin and smiled charmingly down at Veronica.

She in return crossed her arms and blew one big bubble, which burst with a loud pop. Then she answered, "Not really my call to make Weevster. I gave the tape to Wallace back there and something tells me, he's gonna hold on to it for future protection."

Weevil's eyes glinted again and he asked with a smile, "That so, huh? Why do you think that?" Veronica felt more alive than she'd been in a long time as she tilted her head cutely and answered with a big innocent smile, "'Cause I told him to. Enjoy your evening Mr. Navarro," she added and turned around with no fear. _At least no visible fear_ , Veronica's more realistic part mentally whispered as she walked towards to a waiting Logan, whose eyes sent daggers at the PCH'er, and a pale Lily, who didn't look in said biker's direction.

Veronica stopped and turned around and called out to Weevil when a thought occurred to her, "Yo Weevil!" The gang leader looked at her with a now blank expression on his face. "If you ever make my best friend cry again, I will hurt you."

Weevil's eyes turned dark and he nodded seriously. For one second his eyes strayed to Lily in the background and Veronica saw something in them that she recognized from Lily the day before. "I'll keep that in mind," he said as his eyes returned to hers and then walked over to his bike and the waiting PCH'ers without another word.

Veronica nodded to his back before she turned around again and continued towards her friends with a small knowing smile on her lips. Despite all the downs of the day, she felt remarkably like herself at the moment. _And something tells me that this new me might just turn out all right in the end_. She locked eyes with a beaming Wallace for a short moment and grinned at him without her usual cautiousness, _if nothing else, I got a new friend and if that's not an upside to all this,_ _I don't know what is…_

She reached her waiting friends and gently nudged Lily in the side and whispered, "I just discovered one of Weevil's secrets; a good one…"

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the errors that pop up, I try to catch them when I reread but it doesn't seem to work all the time.


	9. Lily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So happy that you seem to enjoy this mess of mine. Again, sorry for the mistakes, but haven' t been able to find a beta so I will muddle through on my own and hope you'll all bear with me :D   
> Enjoy!

**CHAPTER EIGHT: LILY  
**

The drive home from Veronica's house was silent. Lily was bone tired. The day had been way more emotional than she was used to. Having her old lover, who essentially broke her heart, humiliate her in school and then spend all her energy trying to calm down a hurting Logan and a frantic Veronica wasn't exactly a walk in the park for the Kane girl.

Lily sighed as she drove up to the garage and exited the car. Her head hurt, it was like the strain of the day had gone straight into her scar and it throbbed and itched more than normally. "I'm just getting a soda and then I'm hopping into bed," Lily muttered to the empty room and began making her way inside the huge mansion, she had to call home for just a little while longer. _Only until Ronnie and I get a decent place together_ , Lily mentally comforted herself.

Lily silently slid inside her house and let out a relieved sigh when there wasn't any sign of her being caught sneaking in at that late hour. _Well, it's not like anyone in this house even cares_ , the more self-pitying part of Lily added mentally and unexpectedly she felt a burn in her eyes _. I'm not gonna cry! It's just business as usual here,_ Lily told herself and stomped towards the kitchen – forgetting her initial plan to be as quiet as possible.

When she reached the huge refrigerator, Lily quickly grabbed an ice-cold coke and took a big gulp. A moment later, she spat it out with a scared shriek on her lips. A voice had interrupted her and in the darkened kitchen it took Lily a little while to figure out whom the voice belonged to.

"Nice to see you've come home tonight."

Lily shook her head at her skittish behavior and smiled up at the only friend she had in the Kane household. "What have I said about not sneaking up on me, Consuela?" she asked the Spanish maid, who'd lived in the house for as long as Lily could remember.

Consuela smiled a pretty smile and handed her employer's daughter a paper towel as she said, "And I thought I told you not to sneak into the kitchen in the dead of night without turning on the light. I thought you were a burglar."

Lily grinned and wiped her dripping chin. "Trust me Connie – Daddy's billions have made this house almost impossible to enter without permission. I'm still amazed I wasn't attacked by all those protective gizmos he's got considering his feelings for me."

Consuela heard the unacknowledged pinch of sadness in Lily's voice and swallowed a sigh. "Have you eaten?" she asked instead and was rewarded with a small smile from the kid she thought of as a beloved niece.

"I'm not hungry – I've been with Veronica and Logan tonight…" Lily trailed off before she revealed some of the more heavy secrets she carried. The maid's eyes narrowed and Lily held her breath, but then to her relief Consuela simply nodded and bid her a goodnight. A moment later, she left to go back to sleep.

Lily watched her leave with a fond smile. A moment later, she yawned and her desire to find her room came back with a vengeance. As she made her way up the stairs. Lily suddenly heard muffled voices and she felt her body tense up _. They're arguing again_ , Lily thought as the deep tone of her father's voice grew in sound, _I wonder if it's gonna wind up violent?_ Lily rolled her eyes at the thought and thought mockingly, _Like Celeste would even be able to feel anything with all the Botox in her face._

All thoughts of sleep disappeared when Lily snuck closer to the door, which lead into her father's office. Jake Kane's voice was defensive and angry. Lily expertly reached out and opened the door a fraction to catch the argument full on.

"… _saw_ you exit her house in full daylight! I can't believe you'd do this to me over and over again! I have to go to a benefit tomorrow and I won't be made fun of Jake!"

 _I should've known,_ Lily sighed internally and turned around to go to her room – all interest in her parents argument vanished. _Jake's inability to keep it in his pants and Celeste's fear of public humiliation_.

A flash back to the evening where Veronica's temper had snapped stopped Lily in her tracks. Then her mind stopped on the image of her mother – just standing there looking all high and mighty. She couldn't care less that her husband was banging another woman – as long as it never reached the public ears and eyes. _Well, now it happened and this time you can't blame Veronica,_ Lily thought with an evil smirk and continued walking to her room.

For the second time in a short amount of minutes, Lily suddenly stopped moving. She'd heard voices from her brother's room. Voices she recognized and one in particular which she automatically sneered at. Duncan was in his room with none other than Madison Sinclair. _Oh Donut, I never thought you'd stoop this low,_ Lily thought out to her brother.

Without making a sound the oldest Kane sibling walked up to her brother's bedroom door and without thinking twice about it, she leaned closer and listened to the conversation behind it without a drop of shame.

"…for you D.K." Madison's falsely sweet voice rung out easily heard by Lily, who immediately gritted her teeth. The way the Sinclair girl had acted towards Veronica had forever darkened her in Lily's view. _Concentrate and have a bitch attack later_ , Lily quickly scolded herself, when she realized her hate for the fake blonde distracted her from listening in on the conversation.

"…still think you should report her." Madison's muffled voice stated. Lily instantly knew which girl they talked about and forced her temper down to listen more carefully.

Duncan's voice sounded calm as he responded. "Maybe you're right Maddie, but I don't want to get her into trouble," Lily beamed. _Maybe he's not a total douche bag yet._ "The school is already divided as it is. I think that by doing something public to Veronica, then I'll lose followers and I can't really allow that as of right now." _I guess I was wrong_ , Lily thought and took a deep breath. _Don't loose your temper now._

Lily didn't get much of a chance to calm herself down, because Madison said a second later, "Well, _I_ think she should suffer for what she did to you and poor Lily."

 _Poor my ass,_ Lily's mental narrator roared. Then she froze in complete shock when she heard her brother's next words.

"Lily made her choice when she chose sides with that," his voice turned darker, "female. My sister has always been very self-centered so don't waste your pity on her. I lost my best friend because of Veronica and recently I've realized that I lost my sister too. I guess I didn't want to see it, but the reality of it all is, that when Lily dragged me away from Veronica's bedside after I finally spoke my mind…" Duncan's voice turned somber, "my sister died. Her and Logan's adamant refusal to step away from Veronica's twisted mind has caused this family so much pain and-"

Duncan and Madison gasped in surprise when his bedroom door banged open and interrupted their talk and Lily Kane walked in with fury in her eyes. Duncan swallowed some very rational fear at the sight of his sister. She stood straight with her fists clenched hard by her sides. Her eyes sparkled with rage, her skin pale and her scar stood out more than ever. Madison hurried to move behind Duncan's wheelchair for cower. She too noticed all the signs of anger in the former queen of Neptune High's eyes and knew from past experience that one angry Lily Kane was not entirely easy to escape from.

"Sorry to intrude on your little gossip talk," Lily finally spoke – with a surprisingly calm voice. To her great pleasure she noticed that they paled at her soft tone – apparently her abrupt entrance hadn't prepared them for that. _And I'm just getting started_ ; Lily thought vindictively and took a deep breath before she began speaking.

"So, let me get this straight Donut, my dear." Lily walked over and sat down on her brother's bed so she could look him in the eye. "I'm not your sister anymore? Veronica brainwashed me and Logan. You think those things because not only did I stand by my friend – as I know she'd have done for me, should anything have happened to me beyond _this_ ," Lily gestured to her scarred face and continued with ice in her voice, "but I dared to drag you away from her side that night before you smothered her with a pillow…"

Madison gasped and Lily looked over at her coldly. "I don't have to tell you that if any of that leaves this room, I'm gonna be the pretty one of us again, now do I?" Madison paled even more and shook her head frantically. "Go to the bathroom and powder yourself or something, while I finish this little talk with my brothe…oh wait, I guess I can't say _that_ anymore, can I?" Lily's eyes wandered back to the still silent Duncan.

Neither of the Kanes said another word as they watched Madison stumble out  through the door in search of the nearest bathroom. When the door clicked closed behind her, Duncan finally spoke again. "You swore never to talk about what I almost did that night…"

Lily snorted mockingly and slung her long hair over her shoulder as she said, "I did – in fact I never even think about that night anymore, 'cause I know you were out of it at that time, _but_ ," Lily's eyes turned if possible even colder, "you're taking your bitterness too far now. I don't think about that memory because it scares me to know that my brother is capable of murder."

Duncan sighed. "I didn't kill her – I didn't even touch her, Lily."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I know, but I also know what I saw that day. If I hadn't wheeled my way over to her room before my surgery I sometimes wonder if you'd have gone through with it?"

The image of a shaking Duncan with a pillow inches above a sleeping Veronica was hard to ignore and Lily repressed her tears. "I saw the look in your eyes that night Duncan and I know that deep down you do still love her and-"

" _Don't_ say that!" Duncan suddenly yelled and wheeled the chair around so he was completely face to face with his sister, "I can't walk because of her! Dad treats me like I'm… like I'm broken and he's staying more and more over at that whore's house and her daughter's too fucking weak to force her mom from spreading her legs! Veronica should have died that night and we'd all be happier and-"

**Slap!**

Duncan's head was turned and five fingers were already growing on his cheek. Lily didn't feel on ounce of guilt when he looked back at her with hurt eyes. "I actually thought you were getting back to normal earlier when you helped Logan," she told him when the silence had stretched as far as it could, "but," Lily continued without any emotion in her voice, "I guess you were right."

Duncan swallowed a lump and asked hoarsely, "About what?"

He closed his eyes to try and shield his tears when Lily gently kissed his forehead and whispered, before leaving his room. "I'm not _your_ sister anymore…"

**0o0o0**

When the alarm clock began blaring the next morning Lily flinched out of her dark thoughts. She'd been awake for hours and too deep into her mind to remember to turn the damn thing off. A few minutes later, Lily sighed and walked over to the clock and unceremoniously slammed it into the floor.

"That's better," she muttered and went downstairs to eat a bit of breakfast before school. Consuela was waiting for her with a plate of homemade waffles and an ice cold glass of apple juice. Lily smiled her thanks and ignored Duncan and her mother, who were talking softly to each other.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw that once again Duncan took a pill from Celeste without hesitation and had to force herself to not care. _He doesn't want your help, remember_? Lily told herself and quickly finished the food and stood back up.

"Oh good, Lily," Celeste greeted her, "it'll just be a few minutes and then Duncan is finished with his food as well."

Lily squared her shoulders and glanced down at the emotionless husk that had once been her beloved baby brother. "Duncan can ride with his friends or your chauffeur today ,Celeste – I don't have time to be his keeper anymore." Without another word Lily slipped out of the silent kitchen and all but ran to her car before her mother could chase after her in search for an explanation.

It didn't take Lily long to reach the school's parking lot and she turned off the car with a loud sigh. She placed her head on the steering wheel. Her insides were battling with her decision to keep her distance from her brother, whom she loved – despite everything he'd done.

For the first time in almost a year, Lily allowed her memory to dive into that night when she'd finally realized that Duncan's bitterness had turned to hate.

_Lily had begged and then she had finally bribed her nurses to let her wheel down to her best friend's room before she was about to undergo surgery. She'd been in incredible pain and her voice didn't work properly yet, but she didn't care about any of that at that point in time. All she wanted was to look once more at her best friend and make damn sure she'd survived their ordeal._

_A few moments later, Lily reached out and opened the door to Veronica's small room and fought out a mangled scream. Sitting right beside her in a wheelchair of his own, Duncan was holding a large pillow just above Veronica's sleeping face. The look on his face immediately alerted Lily to the danger. Her strangled scream caught his attention and his eyes snapped over to her like a predator interrupted before a kill._

_At the look of horror on her face, his eyes suddenly widened and turned human again. "Oh God –"he moaned. His eyes flew back to Veronica's serene face before settling on Lily's terrified one. "Please don't say anything, please! I just…I can't_ walk _Lily," he continued with tears running down his face._

_Lily weakly reached out to him and he wheeled over to her and planted his head by her chest and wailed out his sorrow. The nurses had found them a little while later and quickly took them out of the room - No doubt thinking that the desperate young man was crushed about his girlfriend's state. The Kane siblings had shared one long glance and Lily buried that night deep in her subconscious, thinking rightfully so, that were Veronica ever to know the truth, she'd fall apart._

"Hey…err, are you okay?"

The friendly voice ripped Lily out of her thoughts and she looked up with wide eyes. Then she quickly relaxed when her mind caught up with her and her current surroundings and she recognized Wallace's towering form. "Hey stud," she said – trying to play off her unusual position with her old charm. Wallace's smile was sweet and Lily actually blushed and looked away. _Why am I reacting like this?_ She thought – a bit annoyed with her emotional self – _I'm not falling for the guy, but his niceness to me is causing me to go all Veronica pre accident…_

A small, realistic part of Lily knew very well, why she acted the way she did. Wallace was – besides Veronica and Logan – the first person to look at her without an ounce of pity and/or disgust in their eyes. _And I didn't know I missed it so much_ , Lily thought and remembered her usual behavior towards her classmates. A mental picture of Weevil jumped into her mind and Lily quickly pushed it down. _It doesn't matter how much I wish he had some of Wallace's heart; he thinks I'm disgusting…_

With more force then she'd like to spend on it, Lily ripped herself out of her growing pity and stepped out of her car. "So," she began with a wicked smile and nudged Wallace in the ribs, "got any offers from the 09'ers yet? At least the girls know what kind of stud muffin you are."

Wallace smiled wider and rolled his eyes at her antics. To Lily's relief she noticed that the concerned look he had been giving her was gone. _For now at least_ , Lily's realistic part added mockingly. "Aren't you gonna use that almost edible body for something or some _one_ good?" Lily asked relentlessly – she truly enjoyed making the much taller male blush. His kind way of being had already wormed itself into Lily's heart and she treated him like she treated Logan. _Well, before he got too hung up on my BFF,_ she thought and grinned. Wallace's frown brought her back to the now and she asked, "I'm sorry what?"

Wallace grinned back at her and said with another eye roll, "I just said, that despite your oh so positive review of my fine self, I'm still flying solo. I guess I'm not that forgiving – I just don't wanna hang with a bunch of morons who laughed and took pictures of me when I was tied up that day."

Lily nodded with a serious expression on her face. She felt her respect for the guy grow a bit more than before and knew without a doubt, that he wouldn't be one of the backstabbers from her past. "You can always hang around us," Lily said with a sincere smile on her face, "Veronica, Logan and me usually hang out after school, but I'm sure we could include one more if the need arises?" Wallace smiled – his happiness about the offer shined through in his entire face and Lily's fondness grew along with her respect.

Suddenly, she noticed a familiar yellow car out of the corner of her eyes. "I gotta go," she excused herself and after Wallace nodded, she turned and went over to greet Veronica. She looked around the parking lot and scanned the area for her brother. _If Veronica runs into him today, he's gonna lose it_ , Lily thought and picked up her pace when she spotted Luke in the distance. _I gotta keep V. distracted so she won't notice anything out of the ordinary._

Five minutes later, Lily had snapped Veronica out of Logan's reach and dragged her inside the school as she rambled on with sincere and not so sincere topics. Suddenly, the small skinny Sheriff's daughter stopped in front of the lockers and said firmly with an amused smile, "Lily, I'm gonna be late for my appointment with Corny. Talk later?" _Oh right, Stoner McStonersen is gonna help us_ , Lily thought with a fake pout to the already disappearing Veronica.

At the end of the hall Lily suddenly locked eyes with her brother. Duncan looked as though she'd betrayed him. After a long second the hurt vanished and he shook his head at her with a disappointed smile. _Like I'm a child, who doesn't know what I'm doing,_ Lily's thought in growing annoyance – her good mood from her talk with Wallace and Veronica was quickly forgotten. Lily narrowed her eyes at Duncan who looked smugly superior all of the sudden. Lily's love for him turned into the usual disappointment after another long moment of that look. _Oh I can't wait until Veronica takes you down a peg, you idiot!_

With a loud snort Lily turned around to go to class and as she shoved her way through her former friends with no regard for their safety, Lily muttered angrily, "and he calls _me_ self-centered!

A few hours later, The Plan could begin. _Finally_ , Lily thought as she stood just within sight of the soon to be show. She stood next to Wallace, who was putting a whole new meaning to the word nervous. Lily couldn't resist a tiny jab and said with a teasing smile in his direction, "If you can't stomach this, you might wanna turn around hot stuff."

Wallace immediately straightened up and tried to play it macho. Lily swallowed another smile when he responded politely, "I'm in for all of it. So sue me for not liking the fact that I'm setting up a crippled dude." _Oh please – you whimp_ , Lily thought in exasperation, _He's my brother dude!_ Out loud she said almost the same thing.

"He's my brother, so your morals are nowhere near as dented as mine are." Lily noticed that Veronica looked a bit nervous too and said comfortingly to Wallace – dropping the teasing for now, "Just relax and enjoy the show.

Without another word, Lily stepped away from Wallace's side and slid over to Veronica, whose attempt at looking nonchalant was almost as see-through as Wallace's. Lily whispered, "I'm actually looking forward to see how much the numbing pills are gonna work when he gets emotional…" Veronica's smile tugged at Lily's heartstrings. The sadness in her voice as she whispered, "yeah, me too," almost made Lily cry. Instead she turned her empathy into anger as the memory of the dangerous-looking Duncan surfaced for yet another time that day. _I wish she didn't waste her feelings on that spoiled brat,_ Lily thought and watched with an evil smile as that doofus Sacks went through her brother's locker. _If she could just open her eyes and realize that Logan is dying to be there for her, she'd be so much better off._

A quick glance at Veronica told Lily that she needed to step out of her mind and start helping. Lily placed a reassuring hand on Veronica's shoulder. She almost cringed when she gently squeezed it to show support _. I gotta make sure she starts eating soon or else there won't be anything left of her…_

Before Lily could dive into another mental preparation of "Let's make Veronica eat- campaign," she was interrupted by Duncan's hateful voice. "Veronica I'm gonna get you back for this! Haven't you ruined my life enough? Bitch!"

 _Oh No he didn't! That worthless piece of-_ Lily's temper roared to life and she snapped. "Hey Donut, stop yakking!" Lily took a quick breath and turned her anger into her usual mocking so her remarks to her brother wouldn't alert Veronica's suspicions, "it's not safe to keep your mouth open in jail and while we're at it – Don't bend down for soap, Bubblebutt!"

Wallace snorted an embarrassed laugh and Lily joined in – happy to humiliate Duncan a bit more. Veronica turned towards her and informed them in an almost formal tone of voice that the next phase of The Plan would begin after school. Lily smiled and slung her arm over Veronica's frail shoulder. "That's nice – I'll meet you in the courtroom, Sweetie."

Veronica nodded with a satisfied smile on her face and Lily quickly took off for class. She adamantly refused to think about the look in Duncan's eyes when he'd listened to her warnings/insults. And because of that, Lily was so caught up in her own mind that she suddenly bumped into another body. _A firm solid body at that_ , Lily's ever sex obsessed mind informed her a second later. Another second later, Lily's before mentioned mind added, _and you know that body very well Miss Kane_.

Lily's eyes snapped upwards and she looked into Weevil's dark eyes. Instantly Lily straightened up and took one long step backwards. "Oh I'm terribly sorry Mr. Navarro. I hope you don't interpret my close proximity to you as an attempt to be "sexed up," I believe were the words you used…"

Lily watched Weevil's eyes darken. She waited for his no doubt snarky reply, but to her great surprise, he just sighed and looked tired all of the sudden. "How did we get this way?" he asked quietly and Lily froze. Unexpectedly she felt a huge need to just fall into her former lover's arms and let herself be held and protected. _Oh great, and while we're at it,_ Lily's snarky self added inwardly, _why don't you just refuse your right to vote and become a full on brainaltered housewife_ …

The thought brought Lily back to herself and she answered Weevil's question with a blank look in her eyes. "I'm not the one disgusted by my appearance – so why don't you figure _that_ one out yourself?" Without another word Lily walked into her classroom and sat down in front – surprising her teacher with her sudden eagerness to write notes and participate.

She didn't notice Weevil's long glance at her back and she didn't hear his whispered, "I've never been disgusted, Ángel…" A moment later, the Latino vanished back into the shadows he'd come from.

**0o0o0**

Later that day, Lily broke out into a huge grin of relief when the judge declared the PCH'ers innocent and thereby freeing Wallace from a life in misery. She was so caught up in congratulating her newest friend that she barely reacted when Veronica told her that she'd wait for her outside.

A few minutes later, Lily followed Logan outside and froze. She watched Keith Mars stand immobile with such a devastating look on his face that Lily wanted to go over and hug him. _He was a better father to me than Jake ever was_ , she thought sadly. Then in the next minute, Lily realized what his expression had to mean for her best friend. _Veronica must be heartbroken,_ Lily thought and quickly walked over to her car and found said girl standing there with such a desperate look in her eyes that for a second Lily feared for her friend's sanity.

She saw that Logan was itching to go over and comfort her, but then he sent her a pleading look and Lily softly asked, "Are you okay Veronica?" With an internal sigh Lily watched as the obvious despair was covered by a fake look of calm.

"I'm fine," Veronica replied and added with an even more fake look of cheerfulness, "Now let's go celebrate."

Lily glanced at Logan, who looked just as frustrated as her, but they both knew nothing good would come of them pressuring her to confide in them when she wasn't ready. Lily looked back at Veronica and said with a fake smile herself, "Absolutely – I'm thinking of heading to the beach for a chill session?" Wallace's shadow fell over the trio and Lily continued with a sincere smile up at him, "And I've invited Sexy here to join our fun."

To her joy Lily realized by the looks of quick agreement on the other two's faces that she wasn't alone in liking the new kid.

The next couple of hours were spent having a blast. For once, Lily succeeded in forgetting all about her anorexic best friend, her abused ex-boyfriend and that shitty existence she was having in the Kane family home. Of course her fun had to be ruined by Weevil off all people and Lily watched with narrowed eyes as he talked good naturedly to Veronica for a few minutes.

"They look mighty chummy all of the sudden," Logan's deep voice muttered – his teasing tone didn't disguise his jealousy. Lily was too caught up in her own emotions to really care.

"Yeah – Ronnie's gotta stop talking to the help…"

Logan's chuckle calmed Lily down and she rolled her eyes at her own catty words and said without removing her eyes from the meeting in front of her, "Let's forget I said that and I'll let you get a free pass next time you embarrass yourself in front of Veronica."

The ex-couple nodded to each other with a caring smile and tried to look completely uninterested when Veronica began making her way back to them. The lively look in Veronica's eyes almost scared Lily. _She looks happier than I've seen her in ages – is she falling for Weevil? Oh God, I hope not_ , the small honest part of Lily cried out.

Lily jumped out of her thoughts when she felt Veronica nudge her gently in the ribs and she turned to look at her. Then she raised one eyebrow when Veronica said with a knowing smile, "I just discovered one of Weevil's secrets; a good one…

A few hours later, Lily closed the front door quietly after herself. She walked as in a daze towards her room. She couldn't quite forget what Veronica had told her earlier that night. _Weevil isn't in love with me_ , Lily firmly thought. _But Veronica had looked so sure,_ Lily continued and bit her lip in uncharacteristic doubt as she made her way up the stairs. _And you trust a girl, who can't even see that her friend is head over heals in love with her? And let's not forget_ , Lily added and reached out and turned the doorknob to her room, _Veronica hasn't even begun to realize that she's just as crazy about Logan as he is with her—_

Suddenly, all thoughts of love for her friends and herself flew out of Lily's mind. She'd opened her bedroom door and come face to face with a man she'd barely spoken to for a year.

Jake Kane got up from his seat by her desk and said seriously, "After our last meeting, I think it's finally time for us to talk."

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so what did you think about this, eh? I tried to go into the Kane sibling relationship this time and also it shows how Lily –despite her love and fierce loyalty to Veronica and Logan – is actually dealing with stuff that the other two doesn't know about…yet at least.
> 
> This FINALLY ends the whole Wallace versus the PCH'ers arch. I hope you enjoyed it…It only took me seven chapters to write lol.


	10. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Drug abuse and cussing ahead...

**CHAPTER NINE: LOGAN  
**

When Logan woke up the next morning, he hurt all over. He didn't get a chance to worry much about it though, because Veronica was by his side the entire time and although she knew that he was ins serious pain, he didn't wan't to act like it in front of her. _It's bad enough she saw me yesterday, I'm not gonna be weak in front of her today._ After he'd watched her humiliate her mother during breakfast, they drove home to his house to get a change of clothes.

The look in his mother's eyes annoyed Logan more than anything. It was a mixture between pity and guilt. _I'm your son!_ He kept thinking; _you should protect me, not the other way around!_

Instead of blaming her, Logan chose to rise above his feelings, kissed Lynne goodbye and walked out to the car, working hard to get some control of himself again. A few minutes later, Veronica joined him. She had a fierce look in her eyes, but Logan decided it was best not to ask questions for once and they continued towards the school. During the ride Logan didn't speak and Veronica just smiled at him in understanding and didn't say anything either.

Barely two minutes after they'd pulled into Neptune High's parking lot, Logan scratched his nose and watched Veronica being all but dragged away from him by a talking a mile a minute Lily.

Logan couldn't help but grin a little at the baffled look Veronica shot him right before she got out of sight. Then he winced when the laughter made his aching ribs flare up. The memory of his father's "affections" towards him came back into his mind and Logan felt his loathing for his old man go up yet another impossible notch.

Suddenly, he was ripped out of his growing bad mood by Dick, who sauntered over to him and bumped his fist into Logan's shoulder with a surprisingly amount of gentleness. _I guess he knows me well enough to see I'm not at my best right now_ , Logan thought and nodded with his signature smirk to the blond, _Dick Cassablancas – perceptive, who'd have known?_

"So dude," Dick began to say, "I've been meaning to ask you…" Logan straightened up a fraction; the serious look in Dick's normally so goofy eyes didn't bode well. "What?" he asked when Dick still didn't finish his question. "Do you err…mind if I tried to get a date with Veronica?"

Logan's entire vision turned red and his immediate reaction was to jump up and rip his best male friend's head clean off – and then stomp on it until it turned to mush while yelling, "She's mine!" It took a bit of effort, but eventually Logan had battled his jealousy enough to smirk and say in a casual tone of voice, "Uhm, sure – I don't know why you'd ask me first though…"

To Logan's surprise Dick's serious look suddenly turned goofy again and he began laughing loudly. Logan looked around them and noticed to his relief that the parking lot was almost empty. "What's gotten into you?" he asked the still laughing Dick. Dick finally stopped and wiped the tears out of his blue eyes and said with a wide smile on his face. "I just totally wanted to see if you were still in denial about digging that little hot piece of ass."

Logan rolled his eyes and muttered childishly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dick's response quickly made him nervous again, "Well, then there's no reason why I can't try to get a date with the fabulous Mars of Neptune."

"Err," Logan managed to struggle out of his mouth before Dick suddenly turned and walked towards the school. _Don't worry Echolls,_ Logan to calm himself _, Veronica isn't the least bit interested in Dick – she's not!_

Having calmed himself down a bit, Logan followed his friend to class. There he proceeded to actually pay attention to the teacher for once and when the class ended Logan felt almost human again. His pain was pushed into that part of his mind that he barely acknowledged anymore, the little part of him that was pity – at least until Madison, Shelley and Caitlin suddenly swarmed him and hugged him cutely all at the same time.

The pain instantly intensified to an unbearable level. Logan's vision darkened and for one long second he feared that he'd pass out like a genuine wuss right in the middle of school, but then he heard something unexpected. A voice he usually acted like he didn't know yelled from behind him, "Yo you gorgeous bitches – let a man breathe, 'aight!"

The three girls huffed in offence and fortunately for Logan they walked away without touching him further. Logan bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood; he didn't want to vocalize his current state. In the middle of his internal struggle, the voice sounded again and he slowly looked up and locked eyes with a PCH'er, he wished he didn't know the name off.

"You 'kay man? 'Cause you're looking paler than a white boy should." Logan grimaced and straightened up; despite the jab of extra pain it earned him. "I'm fine…Thanks by the way," he added and tried his best to sound casual, "those girls are part of my fan club – I'm thinking about putting out a restraining order…"

The PCH'er grinned at his lame attempt at humor and scanned the emptying hallway before he looked back at Logan and said in a much more serious tone of voice. "So, I haven't seen you around lately – Found someone else to help you out?"

Logan repeated the other guy's scan of the hallway and then answered truthfully, "I haven't needed to go to you – or anyone else," he added. Logan took a slow breath and mentally screamed out the pain and then continued, "Look Thumper, I'm not into that kind of stuff anymore – I've found another way to deal with everything. Take your business elsewhere, you won't find any by my side."

Thumper nodded and then smiled with a shrug, "Fine Echolls – if you say so. But you've got my number and know how to reach me. I'll always come through if you change your mind and need to feel good again."

Logan nodded and said, "I won't, but thanks." Thumper nodded once again and turned and walked down the hall without another word. Logan stayed immobile until the other male was out of sight and then he slumped into the wall and groaned softly. Inwardly he was remembering the last time he'd needed Thumper's "help" and cringed.

After the accident pain had become an almost constant source of companion and whenever he'd felt somewhat human, Aaron would usually make sure that wasn't an everyday thing. That and losing his best friend to stupidity and bitterness, fighting Duncan's peers in and out of school, taking care of his mom's own injuries had almost destroyed Logan.

One night, after a so called discussion with his father, Logan had stumbled out to a popular hangout, drunk off his ass and before he knew it, Thumper had handed him some drugs. Before long, Logan hadn't been able to function properly without them – he needed them in the mornings, he took them at school and even at his friend's houses.

The last time Logan had used them, he'd showed up at one of Shelley's parties, had sex with Madison and then he'd somehow ended up in a full on fight with Casey Gant over some chips of all things. The last thing he remembered was holding Casey's head under water for so long, that he might have killed him if Veronica hadn't suddenly showed up by his side and pushed him off the almost drowned Casey. Logan's first reaction was anger and he'd been so consumed in his rush that he immediately felt as though she was against him and he raised a hand to hit her as she was struggling to calm down the panicked Casey.

In that moment, Logan suddenly knew he was more like his father than he'd ever suspected and he took off – scared out of his mind about having not only almost committed brutal murder, but almost having hit the one person in the whole world Logan was pretty sure he couldn't live without.

Despite the fact that the drugs made him feel healthy again and took away his pains and insecurities – at least for a little while – Logan hadn't touched the damn things since. He'd gone home and went cold turkey. The next week Lynne called him in sick and he'd battled his demons in privacy.

No one, not even Veronica or Lily knew the truth about his addiction. To that day they still thought he'd been drunk at that party and that Casey had provoked him one time too many. In fact they'd showed up at his house with some of Veronica's deliciously homemade chicken soup, wishing him well with his "cold."

Logan blinked out of the memories and decided that he needed some space at the moment. His mood wasn't the best after his trip down memory lane and he knew he needed to be at his best to help out Veronica later that day.

Thinking about Veronica, got Logan back on the whole Dick-wanting-her thing and his mood turned if possible even darker. "He was just messing with you Echolls," Logan muttered to himself and walked into an empty classroom to rest.

His traitorous mind conjured up several images of Dick and Veronica and Logan growled. _Think about something else man_ , he thought and sat down at the nearest table and placed his head in his arms. _Think about Ronnie, you like to think about her…_

Once again his mind betrayed him. He did in fact manage to think about his crush, but his thoughts suddenly centered about the words he'd heard Lily utter the night before, " _But at least he's not the only one who won't see how close death is around here."_

Logan sighed and ignored the pain his deep breath caused, too caught up in his thoughts. _Lily's concerned about something, but what exactly?_ He pondered. He remembered having thought that Veronica had looked a bit sick lately, but he'd chopped that up to all the stress in her life. _She didn't eat this morning…when did you actually see her go all Mars on any food?_ The thought and question suddenly erupted inside Logan's tired mind and his head snapped up. "Maybe she was more injured in the crash then she's let on?" he whispered, but then immediately frowned. I _would have known. She spent all her time with Lily and me after she woke up._

"Then what's wrong?"

A voice in his head, which sounded suspiciously like his ex – girlfriend suddenly asked sarcastically, _"do I need to spell it out for you?"_ In the next second Logan just suddenly knew. Without a thread of doubt he knew what was wrong with Veronica Mars, the girl he loved. He closed his eyes and banged his head back into his arms on the table and moaned, "oh crap."

Logan finally managed to get a grip on himself after a few hours sleep in the classroom and he exited it when it became time to do his part in Veronica's plan. _I'll talk to her about everything later_ , he promised himself – thankful for the fact that he didn't need any help and could do his part alone.

"Logan?"

 _Wrong again apparently_ , Logan thought gloomily when Veronica's voice rang out behind him. He repressed all his earlier thoughts and turned around with his usual friendly smile reserved for only her. "What's up Ronnie?" he asked and waited for her to catch up with him.

A few moments later, she stopped in front of him and looked up with a small, cute smile on her lips. "I've been meaning to ask you something. And before you say no, just remember that I'm great at small talk that'll make time just fly by."

Logan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it I'm supposed to say no to?"

Veronica mimicked his eyebrow movement and said, "Well, you're not gonna say no, 'cause I don't want you to." Logan shook his head and gestured for her to get on with it. "I wanna tag along with you to the Sheriff's department."

"No! No, absolutely not!"

The ice blue eyes pierced Logan and he swallowed and forced himself to stay strong. _After all, she's the one, who's always said she needed to avoid the Sheriff_. "No, I'm flying solo." He tried again. A few seconds later he nearly whimpered in defeat when Veronica slowly tilted her head and blinked once.

Twenty minutes later, Logan walked into the sheriff's department with Veronica waiting in his car outside. _Someone's gotta invent an antidote to that head tilt_ , Logan thought not for the first time as he walked over to the German receptionist Inga with his own charms turned up to full burn. _Focus on the job Echolls_ , he demanded inwardly and said, "Hi Inga. I kinda need to report a hideous crime."

Inga's friendly face looked absolutely crestfallen at the thought of him being in trouble and Logan smiled widely; he genuinely cared for the woman, who'd, when he was a kid, let him babysit her dogs when he'd explained he wanted to make some money his father didn't own. "Tell me all about it Loga." Inga said and Logan quickly told his tale of some insignificant crime. While the German woman listened carefully to his words, Logan made sure no one saw him use his two just purchased lighters and throw them down into the two nearest trashcans.

Just as Logan was running out of more lies to tell and was beginning to feel nervous, Inga suddenly held up a hand, sniffed the air and asked with furrowed brows. "Do you smell something?"

A moment later, the fire alarms went off and the whole office was overwhelmed with water from the sprinkler's in the ceiling. The officers in the room instantly rose to their feet and the few civilian people, who'd been there, began screaming in fear and tried to escape the possible death trap.

In the middle of the confusion, Logan smirked and snuck off to the evidence room. He scanned the rows and then cursed out loud when the tapes were nowhere to be found. "Looking for something?" a familiar voice asked from the door opening.

Logan froze mid-movement. Keith Mars' sounded genuinely curious and not mad, which Logan figured was a plus. He slowly turned around to face Veronica's father. Inside his head, Logan was fighting to come up with a proper excuse for his current whereabouts. Finally he settled for an old classic. "Oh hi, Sheriff –I was looking for a way out. Fire is bad for my skin and all…?"

Keith's eyes twinkled and Logan knew that Veronica's dad knew he was lying. He tried another path, "so…err, what's going on out there?"

To his surprise Keith smiled, then the surprise transformed into fear when the older man simply said, "Well, you threw the lighters, you tell me?" Logan blinked and then sighed. "You couldn't be persuaded to let me pass unacknowledged, could you?" Keith's smile didn't waver and Logan actually felt his fear spike and manifest into sweat, which began running down his face.

The two males stared at each other for a long while and Logan was just about to make a run for it – damn the plan- when Keith sighed and turned and closed the door leaving them alone in the evidence room. "You're looking for this here I imagine?" he said and Logan followed the sheriff's gaze to the objects in his hands. It was the tapes. Logan groaned a bit before he could stop himself and Keith nodded as though Logan's vocal displeasure was proof enough.

"I'm guessing since you're involved so is Veronica." Logan's fear vanished and turned to caution.

 _Why's he so interested in her? He left her with Lianne for Pete's sake_ … "So what if I am…sir,"

The answering silence got Logan even more nervous and he had to fight off a need to fidget uncomfortably. Suddenly he was struck speechless when Keith took a few steps towards him and said, "Okay, I know you're somehow doing Veronica's bidding, I'll give you the damn tapes. Just," Keith added with a pleading tone in his voice, "tell me how she'd doing, please."

Something in the older man's eyes struck a chord in Logan and he hated to see that otherwise proud man beg so shamelessly. _I can't tell him anything_ ; Logan thought to himself, _he gave up on her so he doesn't deserve a real answer_. He cleared his throat and finally said casually, "She's fine. Going to school, getting her education and what not."

To Logan's surprise Keith's eyes dulled in what looked a lot like self-hatred. "I know that Logan," he said after a moment of silence, "Tell me something I don't know and I'll give you the tapes."

The pity Logan had felt disappeared and anger took its place. "Why risk your job and reputation for _me_? For some mere tapes in an insignificant case?" Keith's eyes widened in confusion for a moment, and then they turned dark in realization.

The sheriff took a deep breath and took another step closer to Logan. "You really think I care more about my stupid job than my daughter?"

Logan blinked in confusion, but quickly rose to the not present Veronica's defense, "You left her with that sad excuse for a woman! She's miserable there and Jake Kane keeps popping up and popping his thing inside her mom, completely disregarding Veronica's feelings! You quit, remember?" Logan's temper rose to an almost unbearable level as did his voice when he continued yelling, "You stopped fighting for her and she's _devastated_ Keith!"

Suddenly Keith was on him and pushed him into the wall behind him. Logan's already abused back hurt even more, but Logan didn't get a chance to groan out his intensified pain, because Keith hadn't stepped back from him and was now all up in his face. "You think I left my only child with that drunken excuse of a woman, because I didn't wanna fight anymore? DO YOU?"

Logan swallowed and tried to push the smaller man off, but his strength wasn't at its best and Keith Mars was really angry. "That's what everyone thinks! She's been getting hell at school, 'cause they think she's been abandoned – that you don't give a shit!"

Keith's eyes swelled up with tears when he heard that and Logan repressed the instant pinch of guilt. A second later, Keith released him and Logan slid down the wall and sat down with a wince of pain on his face. Finally he looked up and met Keith's now dry eyes and said, "Veronica is devastated about you not sticking up for her. She's…"

Logan was interrupted by a dry sob from the other man and Keith sank down in front of him as he said, "I'm devastated too, you know." Keith sighed heavily and looked at a point just over Logan's head when he continued, "I'm not leaving Veronica out of some twisted sense of defeat Logan. I'm forced to stay away."

Logan frowned and leaned forward – ignoring the fire on his back and in his ribs, "What do you mean?"

Keith locked his dark eyes into Logan's and as he answered, Logan realized he looked older than ever. "Jake Kane has threatened to hurt her, if I don't stay away…And," Logan held his breath during the sheriff's narration, "at first I didn't believe it - no matter how bitter he was at her about the accident – but remember when Veronica suddenly got worse from her injuries and had to be readmitted?" Logan nodded and Keith continued, "Maybe it was just a coincidence, but after I saw Clarence Weidman; Jake's errand boy in the hallway outside her room, I couldn't take that chance and I left…"

Judging from the blank look in Keith's eyes, Logan knew he wasn't telling everything. "And?" Logan prompted after a minute's silence.

Keith blinked and seemed to come out from his own world. "And that's it." Logan rolled his eyes, "No it's not. Trust me; Veronica has enough of you in her for me to see when you're omitting things. I've been clueless about her for too long Keith and I need to know everything in order to help her." _To make her healthy again_ , his mind added unheard.

"If I tell you," Keith began after a few moments of contemplation, "you're not gonna go outside to Veronica and demand answers. Okay?" Logan nodded instantly and then his world turned even more upside down when Keith quietly told him everything, "I couldn't keep entirely out of her life and she most definitely couldn't stay out of mine. One night Weidman showed up at my apartment and demanded that I stop answering her calls or else…I did that even though it almost killed me. A while later I got the last call from Veronica and I still have that voicemail she left." Keith swallowed and looked down at the floor, "she told me that she knew, that she'd had a confrontation with Jake and Lianne and that she wouldn't bother me anymore. And that's when I knew that not only did she know about my reasons for staying away, but she'd gotten some herself."

Logan's mind was reeling and then it just stopped from an overflow of information when Keith softly said, "We stopped all contact after that, but I kept digging in the dark, hoping to find some help. That's when I discovered from Weidman that not only would she get hurt if I didn't stay away, but…" Keith's voice hesitated a moment, but then he eventually revealed his last bit of information, "but Veronica was also being forced away from me. Jake and Lianne have said to her that I'll be killed if she doesn't…"

The silence after that last reveal was eerily quiet, but inside Logan was screaming again. _I can't believe she hasn't said anything to me. I could've helped_ – "She probably wasn't allowed to say anything either," Keith's voice interrupted his thoughts and Logan looked back into Keith's eyes. "She's lucky she has you and Lily in her life," the sheriff's continued – looking more relieved than ever.

Logan didn't know what to say to that and a few seconds later, Keith got to his feet and said, "I'm feeling better than I've done in a long time. I know you won't say anything." For one split second Keith's eyes glinted knowingly and he said, "after all, you're used to keeping your own secrets."

Logan looked away from those eyes and got to his feet. He turned to leave, but was stopped by Keith's hand on his wrist. "Here," he handed Logan the evidence and continued in a much more friendly tone, "despite me and my family's problems, I want you to know that you can come to me when things get too hard for you, okay?"

Logan didn't answer and just simply vacated the police station. His head was hurting and all his newfound knowledge was getting him angrier by the minute. _She's been suffering all this time and hasn't been able to tell anyone. No wonder she's got food issues_ , Logan thought and almost welcomed the rush of angry guilt. _At least she can control that part of her life..._

When he got outside he immediately spotted the X-terra and sighed. I _can't just attack her. Keith said she isn't even allowed to talk about it…But she's smart,_ another part of him though, _she could've found a way if she trusted you!_

Finally he reached the car and got inside – fighting internally to stay calm. "It's done," he forced out as soon as he'd sat down. For the life of him, Logan couldn't stay focused enough to keep chatting as they'd done on the way over there. Off course Veronica noticed that fairly quickly and Logan resisted an urge to scream when she asked what had happened.

 _Stay calm, stay calm Echolls_ , the mantra kept going even as Logan answered the curious blonde by his side, "Nothing – everything worked just like you said it would."

Logan functioned on auto-pilot for the next few minutes, but then his attention snapped back to her, when Veronica huffed out, "Fine- I just thought we didn't have secrets between us, that's all…"

He turned his head and glared at her. His temper couldn't take it anymore and he sneered coldly, "That's funny coming from you." When Veronica responded just as coldly, Logan lost it and he only came back to his senses when he realized that Veronica had gone deathly pale and he noticed how fast he was driving.

"Oh fuck," he cursed loudly and pulled the car over as fast as humanly possible. Logan desperately tried to calm the panicked female down by getting her out of the vehicle and into his arms. They sat there for quite some time and Logan kept apologizing for his blunder until Veronica forced herself back to her usual state of mind and then they acted as though nothing had happened while they drove to Wallace's house to finish the last of the plan.

For the rest of the day Logan hated himself – even more than usually. He'd repressed all thoughts of his new knowledge and acted as though nothing was wrong. He watched from the doorway of the courthouse, how desperately Veronica clung to her father for one way too short minute. He acted fine and happy as Lily, Veronica, Wallace and him went to the beach and hung out.

When Weevil arrived, Logan had almost jumped at the chance to provoke the guy enough for a fight. Anything to keep his mind off of Veronica's illness and twisted family affairs. Of course his mood wasn't helped by that spike of fierce jealousy he got when he spotted the sincere happy smile on Veronica's face as she looked at Weevil.

Logan shook off those feelings for the moment though and kept acting content for the rest of the evening – even though he was aching internally.

Finally, the night ended and Logan could drive back to the Echolls estate without fighting to act normal. Halfway there Logan stopped the car and placed his head on the steering wheel. Behind his closed eyes, he was catapulted with images of Veronica from the last year and his self-hatred grew when he realized that he should've known about her eating disorder a lot sooner. Then the images changed into Keith's pleading eyes and back to Veronica's terrified eyes on him that day before he'd stopped the speeding car.

"Damn it!" Logan snapped and punched the wheel repeatedly as he roared out his misery. I _can't handle anymore_ , he thought, _I'm not strong enough_. Logan closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then he heard Thumper's parting words from earlier that day. _I'll always come through if you change your mind and need to feel good again._

Without really knowing how, Logan had turned the car around and driven to a place he hadn't been to for a long time. Once there he stopped the car and made a call.

Fifteen minutes later. he heard the telltale sound of an approaching motorcycle and in one hesitant minute, Logan debated with himself _. I could leave now and that'll be that_ …Thumper's figure stepped into the light from the headlights and Logan sighed. I _just need to feel good for one lousy night_ , he decided, _it'll just be one more time…_

"Hey Echolls," Thumper greeted him with a fake smile, "didn't think I'd be hearing from you so soon?" Logan didn't respond and just handed him a roll of cash. Thumper's smile turned greedy at the sight and he said, "But I'm glad, dog. Here," the PCH'er handed Logan a small bag of white powder. "I threw in something a little extra – for old times sake. Enjoy."

Without another word, Thumper turned and vanished into the night, leaving Logan alone in the dark. Logan waited until he heard the sound of the roaring bike again before he restarted the car and drove to the Neptune Grande. On the way he called Lynne and said he'd be staying the night at Dick's place.

A half an hour later, Logan sat down on the huge couch in his suite and placed his items on the expensive glass table. A few moments later, he bent forward and took a deep breath through his nose. He wiped the excessive powder of his face and leaned back with a satisfied smile. "Bring on the good times," Logan muttered, "I need 'em…"

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well,now you know a bit more about all the issues all three of them have. I hope I won't have to remind you again that this tale is way dramatic and cliched ;)   
> Thanks for reading.


	11. Veronica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, no time to reply to comments today, will do so later when I have a moment to spare.   
> Be Warned, this is a cliffie chapter!!!

**CHAPTER TEN: VERONICA  
**

Veronica woke up before her alarm was set to go off and groaned quietly into her pillow. After a few moments of deciding whether or not she should stay in bed or get up for a new day, Veronica finally stretched and sat up.

She walked into the bathroom and as usual didn't glance at the mirror before she stepped into the shower. Ten minutes later, Veronica was in the middle of toweling herself off when she was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness and had to sit down on the toilet seat. "Whoa," she muttered and blinked rapidly as several black spots dotted into her line of sight.

For the first time in almost a week, Veronica acknowledged her body's attempt to get into contact with her and decided she'd better eat something for once. Having decided that Veronica worked through her dizziness and got dressed as fast as possible. Then she began brushing her teeth. Inwardly Veronica was busy trying to count up just how much – _or in my case_ , she thought realistically, _how little_ , she'd been eating this week.

The amount was tiny at best and Veronica mumbled to herself in a scolding tone of voice. "Today's the day I'm gonna eat a full breakfast – or else things are gonna end badly!"

Finished with her pep-talk to herself and for once feeling somewhat in a good mood, Veronica straightened up a bit and exited the bathroom – intent on some breakfast.

That plan was smashed into bits and pieces when she ran straight into Jake Kane's body on the way into the kitchen. Jake Kane's bare-chested body to boot!

"Holy crap," Veronica exclaimed in disgust and tumbled backwards into the nearest wall upon the impact. Instantly, she bit the inside of her cheek to stop the pained moan that threatened to escape from her lips. In the next second, Jake held out a hand and when she didn't give him hers to let him help her upright again, he sighed and grabbed her hand anyway. "There you go Ronnie," he said with a wide smile.

 _I'm gonna go to jail for murder_ , Veronica thought hatefully, _I can just see the look on Duncan's face if I kill his old man. Well,_ Veronica comforted herself as she simply walked into the kitchen without acknowledging the billionaire; _at least Lily will send me cakes filled with files, just to spite him._ The thought of Lily distracted Veronica briefly. She'd been a lot harder to get in touch with than normally and Veronica momentarily considered whether or not she should try and demand some explanations later at school.

"That wasn't very nice, honey," Veronica started in surprise and looked up from the counter, which she'd been looking at for a long minute. _Lianne looks almost human today_ , Veronica thought and then asked calmly as she walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a cup of yoghurt, "What are you talking about now?"

Lianne's sigh was loud and to Veronica's mild surprise, she actually seemed to want to get into a confrontation for a change. "Jake is being very courteous to you, Veronica and I think you should apologize for keeping up this childish behavior towards him."

Slam!

Veronica closed the refrigerator door with a bang and turned around to face her mother. All her previous thoughts about finally trying to eat slipped right out of her mind in her growing rage. "Are you really _that_ stupid? Has the alcohol blown what little mind you had left right out of your skull?"

Lianne flinched at the harsh tone in her daughter's voice, but before she – or Veronica – could continue on with the discussion, Jake showed up behind Lianne and said with a stern look on his face, "Look here Veronica, you aren't allowed to speak to your mother like that, show her some respect. Apologize right now."

In that moment, Veronica's rage blew up and a part of her feared for one small second that she might actually come through with her earlier desire and kill the man as she took a deep breath before she screamed, "you're not my father Jakey! Stop talking to me! You've ruined my fucking life enough already. And _you_!" Veronica's ice cold blue eyes turned back to her stunned mother, "you think I'll ever l respect you? A whore sleeping with a married man – a married man, whose family is falling apart because he thinks that whatever it is you've got between your thighs, is worth boinking!"

In the next second, Veronica's rant was stopped and she felt her head turn sideways. The burn on her cheek from her mother's sudden slap didn't faze her in the slightest and Veronica smirked coolly, "When I turn eighteen, I promise I'll take you both down. Go to _hell_."

Veronica turned and walked out of the kitchen, ignoring her mother's plea and frantic apologies. _I just need to go to someone, who doesn't ruin my life or the very least, my mood._

Thirty minutes later, Veronica reached her goal. The Kane mansion. A small barely acknowledged part of Veronica had wanted nothing more than seek out Logan, but she knew that he'd probably be too caught up in this week's flavor. _But then again_ , a more logical part of Veronica pointed out; _he's been dating less frequently lately, so maybe…? Well, I wouldn't know_ , her mind added gloomily all of the sudden. Since their night together at the beach Logan hadn't been around as much as he usually was.

A beam of light from the sun hit the huge window, which Veronica knew to be Duncan's and her thoughts turned a bit sourer _. And he's not the only one. Lily's been pulling away too. She's arriving later and later to pick me up for school and speaking of which, she was supposed to pick me up ten minutes ago back home…_

Before Veronica had time to let her mind wander down that path, she saw the front door open and Lily came out and immediately all thoughts of Logan and Lily's evasiveness evaporated from her mind. For the first time in days, Veronica looked at Lily and saw her without the usual cheery façade that she usually wore. _Something has happened!_

"Veronica? What are you doing here? I was supposed to pick you up in…" Lily said in greeting and checked her watch and Veronica saw her eyes widen as the other blonde realized that at this time of day she'd usually already be parked outside Veronica's house. "Err," Lily continued, "about ten minutes ago."

Veronica rolled her eyes and waited for Lily to reach her in the driveway before she asked bluntly, "what's wrong?"

Lily's face turned carefully blank and she quickened her pace over to her car as she muttered, "Everything's just fine Veronica. What's up with you today; I know I'm running a bit late, but that's no reason for you to walk over here "behind enemy lines," Lily made air quotes when she said the last three words.

Veronica recognized a diversion when she saw one and decided to stop pestering her friend _. I'm gonna get her to talk eventually,_ Veronica promised herself and got into the car while she answered truthfully, "Actually I just needed to get away from home today. I had a blowout with mommy dearest and your dad was there," Lily snorted and muttered, "off course – where else," before Veronica continued, "so to make this unbelievable boring story short, I yelled, Jake tried to parent, I yelled again, she hit me and here I am."

Lily's sigh was loud and Veronica's eyebrows nearly disappeared in her hairline when she heard the Kane heir's next words, "Maybe we should just leave them be for now. Maybe he loves her, ever think of that?"

Veronica crossed her arms and said, "And their - oh so wonderful - love makes it okay for them to cheat on their spouses and ruin everybody's lives?" Lily shifted gears and said in a quiet tone of voice, "Of course not. I just think we should let Lianne and Jake do their thing and concentrate on our own lives for once."

Veronica blinked in disbelief. _Did I wake up in the twilight zone_? She thought and felt her temper rising for the second time today. "I thought you hated their hypocrisy too Lils? And now you're all for it. What's going on with you these days?"

Lily glanced in her direction and to her surprise Veronica spotted a mixture of shame and anger in the other girl's face. "So what if I am?" Lily finally snapped. "I think you're being childish about this. My dad and my mom aren't exactly cozy and if he gets his jollies off hanging around Lianne, who am I to protest?"

"His child!" Veronica yelled and then she bit her lip in hurt shock when Lily sneered in an unusually hard tone, "Well, if your mom would just leave my dad alone – we wouldn't be having this discussion, would we?"

Veronica held her breath in the following silence – waiting for an apology, because Lily would never betray her like this. _Just last week, she promised never to leave me…_

The apology didn't come and eventually Veronica closed her eyes for one long moment. _Now I'm truly alone. Logan is her ex, he's bound to go with her and then I'll be all alone. It'll kill me_. As though the thought reminded her body of its current predicament, pain suddenly boiled up inside Veronica's stomach and she grasped her belly and gasped – her eyes still shut closed.

"Ronnie?" Lily's voice was soft again, but Veronica didn't care. For the first time she felt suffocated in a car, without it being the actual cause of her discomfort. "Let me out," Veronica muttered when she felt more in control of her pain again.

"We're almost at the school," Lily said, but then Veronica raised her chin and opened her eyes – forcing all her emotion away from them - and repeated, "Let me out of this damned car Lily."

A moment later, the car stopped and before Lily had a chance to say another word; Veronica jumped out of the vehicle and started walking the last half a mile to the school. Internally Veronica was extremely confused and when Lily finally restarted her car and drove off alone, Veronica bent over and moaned out her sorrow. "Why does everybody leave me?"

Five minutes later, Veronica got to her feet again and wiped her eyes, banishing the burning tears she couldn't quite help shed and continued walking, looking like a walking dead.

Veronica finally managed to get to school halfway through the first class and instead of subjecting herself to the whole knocking on the door in the middle of class and inevitable suffer a few stupid remarks thing, Veronica sat down in the empty quad and placed her pounding head on the cool table.

"Got a minute?"

The sudden interruption from her growing pain and self pity caused Veronica's head to snap up and she forced a fake smile on her face when her eyes fell on Weevil. "I always got time for you Navarro. What's up?"

Weevil's dark eyes scanned the unmistakable traces of her tears, but fortunately he didn't remark on it as he casually sat down in front of her and said, "Well, it's like this. My grandma works at your boy Echolls house and he's accused her of stealing his credit card – or one of them anyhow. He hasn't taken it any further – according to her, he just blew up in her face yesterday, and told her to repay every dime she's stolen. Thing is," Weevil added with a quick look around, "I'm damn sure she wouldn't do that and I know my boy Chardo's been sneaking off with that Caitlin chick, who – coincidentally is a frequent guest in your white boy's bed chambers."

Veronica rolled her eyes, relieved that her headache and stomach cramp seemed to be fading in the light of this new challenge. "So, I'm just supposed to… what? Ask Logan politely not to point fingers at elderly maids and force him to kiss and make up, while you go out and kick that other PCH'ers behind?"

Weevil's serious face turned into a wicked smile and he nodded. "Basically yeah. I'm gonna take the blame if Echolls decides to press charges 'cause I'm underage, but until then I really want to resolve this – without my grandmother losing her job – she kindda needs the money, ya know."

Veronica nodded and stood up when the bell rang out in the next moment. Another sudden surge of dizziness made her stumble hesitantly on her feet and she felt Weevil grasp her arm for a second. "Whoa tiny," he exclaimed with worry in his eyes, "You all right? You look sort of green all of the sudden."

Veronica nodded, shook of both the hand and the concern when she spotted Lily and Logan exiting the doors. "I'm fine and dandy, good sir. I'm just gonna go talk to Logan now – I'll let you know the dealio later on, okay?"

Weevil nodded and Veronica took off. She walked right over to Logan and used her previous anger and sadness to ignore the pale blonde by his side. "I need a word Logan," she said and added without looking at Lily, "Alone."

Logan blinked slowly and if she hadn't known any better Veronica could have sworn he was drunk – or suffering from a major hangover, but she did know better and knew that Logan didn't show up drunk. _At least not when he knows I'm in school too seeing as I hate drunken people_.

"Sure, but err…" Logan glanced at Lily and then back at Veronica with an apologetic look in his eyes, "I sort of promised Lils to go talk with this Mac girl before the next class."

Veronica nodded and ignored the quick stab of hurt in her heart when she heard that her two best friends had made plans without her and said casually, "Okay, let's meet up after school and then you can drive me home too."

Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica noticed the similar expression of hurt and rejection on Lily's face, but she told herself that she didn't care.

A moment later, the bell rang and Veronica all but ran to the next class – eager to forget her troubles and dive into some good old unsolvable algebra.

When the last class of the day ended Veronica walked mutely out to the parking lot and pretended she didn't see Lily standing by her car with a serious look on her face. _She let me down, so stop feeling guilty,_ Veronica told herself and ignored that logical voice within her, which said, _well, maybe you should stop being so self righteous…_

A minute later, Veronica reached Logan's usual parking spot. To her surprise – and annoyance – she quickly realized the car wasn't there. _He did not just stand me up_ , Veronica thought and felt her temper rise once again. _He promised me…_ Somehow Logan's broken promise hurt more than any others in comparison.

"Veronica?" Lily's voice sounded across the parking lot and Veronica sighed and turned her head in Lily's direction.

"What?" she asked coolly and Lily nodded towards the empty spot and then pointed at her own vehicle, "He probably just forgot – he seemed a bit out of it today…Let me take you home."

The more childish part of Veronica wanted nothing more than scream and throw a major tantrum using the words, traitor, liar and not a chance in hell, but the realistic part of her won out and she said tiredly, "Fine. But take me to his house, 'cause I need to talk to him – about a case," Veronica added before Lily got a chance to ask.

A few moments later, the duo was on their way. Veronica looked out the window to avoid conversation and Lily seemed content enough just to keep quiet for once.

It didn't take long to reach the Echolls mansion and when they pulled into the massive driveway Veronica noticed that neither of Logan's parents cars were present and thought, _At least I can scold him without Aaron finding out and delivering his own punishment for leaving the damsel in distress at school_. Veronica may be upset about Logan's forgetfulness – more so than she actually had expected – but she wouldn't want to get him into trouble with the famous father with the big temper.

"I'll take it from here," Veronica said as she stepped out of the car and noticed that Lily was about to follow her.

Lily's eyes turned sad and she said with a pleading note in her voice, "Come on Ronnie, don't do this."

Veronica crossed her arms and gritted her teeth for one long second as the always present stomach ache intensified for a moment. When the ache dulled for a second Veronica finally responded tiredly, "Well, you chose your side, remember?"

Lily sighed and restarted the car, but she just sat immobile for a long while – watching Veronica with an intense look in her eyes. Eventually she said almost too quietly for Veronica's ears, "I chose _your_ side Veronica. You'll know eventually."

A burst of self pity made Veronica snap at the other blonde. "The only thing I know is that you suddenly abandoned me for some stupid thing between our cheating parents. Don't worry Lily, I'll stay away from you from now and take the bus or whatever. At least Celeste will be pleased with you again." With that parting sentence Veronica turned quickly and walked towards Logan's front door.

She heard Lily mutter angrily, "I'm disappointed in you. You of all people should know there's usually more than one side going on…"

Veronica acted as though she hadn't heard Lily's words and entered the house. It was eerily quiet and Veronica felt a sudden rush of goosebumps erupt on her arms.

"Hjelloooo," she called out softly, but no one answered. A few seconds later Veronica squared her shoulders and began walking towards Logan's bedroom. To her mild annoyance he wasn't there. _He has to be here somewhere;_ Veronica thought and sat down on his rumbled bed. _Logan always locks the doors from the crazy fan girls whenever the house is empty._

Veronica's vision blurred for a moment and she leaned backwards and snuggled into Logan's bed as she suffered yet another dizzy spell. _All right_ , she thought to her aching stomach region and placed her hands on said spot, _as soon as I've talked to Logan, I'll stop somewhere and eat the entire menu to please you_ … It took a few minutes, but eventually the pain subsided and Veronica sighed in relief. Then she took a deep breath and inhaled that special scent, which was Logan's.

A small part of her suddenly longed unexplainably after a hug from him and before she realized what she was doing; Veronica had grabbed his pillow and buried her head into it. Then she froze and looked up from the soft pillow. "What am I doing?" Veronica muttered – a bit embarrassed - and quickly walked out of the bedroom, before her traitorous body turned on her again.

Veronica renewed her efforts in locating her friend and as she wandered around the huge mansion and glanced briefly into some of the numerous rooms, she thought about her day so far. The argument with her mother and Jake had been long overdue, but the weird argument with Lily had completely thrown her and a small part of Veronica knew that was the main reason she was so focused on talking to Logan. Only a small portion of her mind was intent on helping out Weevil. _Killing two birds with one stone never hurt anybody,_ Veronica thought as she walked through the large glass doors, which lead out to the pool area. "Well," she amended with a small smile as she made her way towards the pool house, "only the birds."

As she neared the pool house Veronica could hear faint music and shook her head. _He's probably been working out and is now wiped out on the bed in there,_ she thought. Then she hesitated just before she was about to slide open the door. _What if he's in there with some chick and I'm gonna interrupt a major moment?_ Veronica shuddered at the thought and her former annoyance immediately spiked when an image of a half naked Logan with a gorgeous woman entered her mind. _Then he's just gonna have to reschedule that get together_ , she thought vindictively and finally opened the door to enter.

A second later, Veronica's entire body froze in shock and disbelief. Yes Logan was having a moment, but it damn sure wasn't with a girl. Not unless she'd turned into a couple of thin lines of white powder.

Veronica watched in complete undiscovered silence as her friend finished his lane and sat up with closed eyes and a contented smile. Something broke inside of her seeing that faked happiness on his face and for the first time Veronica somehow understood that the feelings she had harbored for Logan was anything _but_ platonic.

She loved him with all her being. _And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let another loved one go because of an addiction._ Veronica thought dazedly and took a deep preparing breath - in the back of her mind she noticed that the entire pool house smelled vaguely familiar - a certain flowery scent, but she barely registered the observation in her rage.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing to yourself, Logan?" The words escaped her lips before she had had time to think about what to say to him. Logan's eyes instantly snapped open in surprise and his eyes widened almost comically at the sight of her.

"Veronica," he began, but she interrupted him with a hiss.

"Are you stupid? Why are you doing this to yourself? I thought you had more brainpower than that!" Veronica yelled out the last part as her mind dove into the now familiar pool of anger inside her.

To her surprise Logan didn't jump to his own defense like she'd expected. No, he leaned back in his chair with a smirk on his face. If Veronica didn't look too long into his eyes, she'd never know he was high. "Look who's preaching for the choir." Logan drawled and placed his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose. Veronica swallowed back her angry retort and he continued mockingly, "Saint Veronica should sweep before her own door first."

Veronica crossed her arms and blinked back the burning in her eyes – determined not to cry. "This is not about me Logan Echolls! You're ruining yourself with this crap-".

"Oh, shut up Ronnie," Logan jumped to his feet with a wild look in his eyes. "Don't act so holy all the time! You're doing the same thing."

Veronica gasped and took a step forward, "I'm not doing drugs." She stated, "I'm not _that_ stupid!"

Logan's smirk returned as he matched her pose and crossed his muscular arms. "Oh really – then why aren't you eating Sugarpuss? You're a shadow of yourself and if that's not killing yourself, I don't know what is!"

Veronica shook her head _. I can't believe Lily told him_ ; she thought and muttered something along those lines out loud.

"Lily didn't need to tell me," Logan growled out and Veronica looked up – startled when she realized he'd walked up to her and was very close to her. "Despite your popular opinion right now, I'm not without brains."

"No," Veronica whispered as the anger ebbed out of her and was replaced with much needed numbness – too many things had happened today, "You just kill it off with drugs."

Logan blinked slowly and for one brief moment his eyes glanced down to her lips and Veronica could have sworn he looked as though he wanted to kiss her for a second, but then Logan straightened up and towered over her. "Let's just agree to disagree on this one, 'kay Ronniekins."

Veronica's numbness grew at his cold tone of voice. "Fine," she muttered and took another step backwards. "I won't bother you again. I just need to ask you something completely different – that is, if your drugged up mind can concentrate long enough."

Logan's smirk turned dangerous and Veronica shivered when his resemblance to Aaron Echolls increased. "Anything for you skinny gal."

Veronica sighed and told him about Weevil's request. Just as she finished, Logan burst into a crazed laugh, which made the hairs in the back of Veronica's mind stand up. "So that's who she's been banging besides me," he said and Veronica's heard hurt a bit more when she realized he was talking about Caitlin Ford.

 _Be professional_ , she thought – trying with all her might to stop her heart from breaking. _I know it's a stupid time to realize you're in love with Logan and that the thought of him with another girl hurts, but suck it up Mars_. "Yeah," Veronica said after Logan finished another round of inappropriate laughter, "so are you gonna let Weevil's grandmother keep her job? Or are you gonna press charges and be a complete asshole?"

Logan's smile vanished and he impaled her with his stare. Veronica fidgeted uncomfortably and waited for his response. "I might be an asshole," he slowly began, "but I'm not heartless. Mrs. Navarro shouldn't suffer 'cause of her grandchildren's antics. You're disappointing me, Veronica," he added after a short pause.

Veronica went rigid. _First Lily and now him – what is this bizarre world I've woken up to?_ "Well," she said defensively when the surprise dimmed, "I guess I'm not the only one being disappointed today."

Logan chuckled and Veronica could see how the drug was kicking in to the fullest as his balance weakened and he all but fell down on his abandoned chair. "Go away Veronica," he said, "I don't need condescending remarks from a girl, who's too far gone in her own misery to see things clearly. You know where the door is, right?"

"You really are an asshole," Veronica whispered and quickly turned and walked out of the pool house. As she walked along the pool Veronica's mind was screaming at her to go back and apologize for not telling Logan about – among other things - her problems with food. Another part of her mind was still stuck on the whole drug thing and it was that part that was raging at him. A third part was telling her to locate Lily and make things right between them so they could help Logan together. "I-I can't do this anymore," Veronica whispered into the empty space.

Suddenly, Veronica stopped and bent forward. The stomach pains were back with a vengeance and she moaned and clutched her belly as hard as she could. It took a few minutes before she could recover enough to even stand upright. Then – as she was trying to do just that – the dizziness swept over her, but this time it was worse than ever. Little black spots darkened her vision and Veronica stumbled heavily – almost unable to move as the pain came back in the next moment and added its two cents to the mix along with a heavy dose of nausea.

Veronica tumbled forwards and far away she heard a splash and it took her a long moment to realize that she'd fallen into the pool. The pain didn't stop and Veronica barely felt the air in her lungs burn after more air as she struggled through the fierce agony. Weakly she tried to move enough to break the surface, but it was without success. Veronica opened her eyes in the water and saw a thin line of red in front of her. _Where am I bleeding from?_ She managed to think as her vision turned black despite her open eyes.

A few seconds later, Veronica truly felt numb and for the first time in her life, she stopped fighting the inevitable. A more realistic part of her knew that she wasn't fighting because she was weary to the bone. _And my two best friends think I'm an annoyance_ , Veronica thought tiredly and finally just let go and everything turned black. _They won't care…_

Suddenly, Veronica was jerked awake again. Far away she heard someone unknown say, "She's back."

She felt pain – more intensely than she'd ever felt it before and she groaned out her displeasure.

"Oh God, Ronnie, can you hear me?" that voice was familiar – the pleading tone however was not and Veronica struggled to place it – to calm it down.

"Sir," another unfamiliar voice said before she could solve her voice mystery, "- Kid, _listen_ to me! We need to take her to the hospital now and get her checked thoroughly for everything. She was out for a while and we need to make sure she's okay."

 _I'm okay_ , Veronica wanted to say when the familiar voice sobbed and she felt a kiss being placed on her forehead.

"I'm so sorry Veronica; please don't leave me. I love you…"

Veronica yearned to tell the person besides her that she was sorry too, she just couldn't concentrate enough to do so. And then a moment later, she felt the world start go black again. In the distance Veronica heard the unfamiliar voices again.

"We gotta move – her BP's dropping fast! Make sure the ER knows we're coming!"

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

**TBC...**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ducks out of the way of death glares with a sheepish grin*   
> I know I'm evil, but I'll update soon again, I promise.  
> Thanks for sticking with me!


	12. Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me !

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: LILY  
**

The dream was the same she'd had for about a week now. In fact it wasn't a dream, it was a memory. A memory Lily Kane would give everything to not have lived through.

She opened the door and stood face to face with her father - The local billionaire hero of Neptune – the city of ass kissers to the rich and popular. Lily blinked as he stated that they needed to talk and the following silence stretched on for several minutes.

After that he lost his patience and gestured for her to come closer. Lily sighed and did just that in a cautious manner. A small part of her – barely acknowledged actually – still loved the man, who at one point in time had always taken her side in her endless run-ins with her darling mother.

"Okay," Lily said a moment later as she sat down on her bed and crossed her arms defensively. "I'm listening." Jake smiled a friendly smile and Lily resisted the urge to mock him as per her usual behavior. "Good," he said, "I'm just going to jump into it."

Lily rolled her eyes as Jake continued in a sweet tone of voice, "I love you Lily; you're such a force in my life. I've always been proud of you and normally I would stand behind you one hundred percent." The sweetness was then replaced by steel and Lily swallowed a lump of dread. "That said I want you to know I'm extremely disappointed in you."

Lily blinked. _Why am I hurt?_ She thought _, he's let me down so many times already – one more time shouldn't be such a big deal._ Lily tried to act as though the words didn't faze her and she scratched her nose and asked, "Oh really? Why's that?"

She watched carefully as Jake's eyes turned somber and he sighed heavily as though he was about to tell her something devastatingly important. _In his own way, he probably is_ , Lily thought and crossed her arms. "Your independence has always been an asset in my view, but I'd never thought you'd actually choose someone over your family. Veronica Mars is a troubled girl and…" Lily's temper rose and she immediately snapped, "I did choose the person, who's been more like family to me than anyone else. Stop trying to pin everything on her and keep telling me why I'm such a letdown to you."

Jake's eyes turned chilly and for a second Lily actually felt a bit scared. Then her whole world tumbled down around her when her father simply said, "Don't be so dramatic. I came in here trying to make you see reason, but obviously that isn't going to work." Lily swallowed a lump of dread when he quickly – but eerily calm – continued, "Now I'll be as blunt as you need my dear. Either you make Veronica accept her mother's devotion and care or else I'll rip her life even more apart then I already have…"

Lily froze for one long moment as all the hints and half clues she'd gathered over the year finally seemed to come together into one coherent thought, _my dad is responsible for Veronica's home life situation_. Lily finally shook her head and asked coolly – trying to act as though her father's words hadn't intimidated her, "Oh really? What ya gonna do daddy? Move her into the east wing of the house along with Lianne – I for one think that could be kinda fun; at least this way you'll cut your commute in half."

To Lily's annoyance, it was clear that Jake recognized the underlying fear under all her mocking words. He simply shrugged the words off and continued calmly, "Did you know Lianne and I had an affair around the time she got pregnant with Veronica? What do you think her and more importantly Keith Mars will do if they find out I might be his baby's daddy? I've already humiliated him a lot, but if you won't help me in my quest I'll make that look like child's play."

Jake Kane knew from the defiant look in her eyes, that Lily had just lost any respect or love she had for him. He had known it would happen, but had told her anyway.

"It'll kill her to know there's a possibility of that," Lily slowly muttered after a long minute of ice cold silence. Jake nodded and smiled emotionlessly and Lily continued, "What will you do when the golden donut finds out? He'll kill you for allowing him to fall in love with his half sister…"

For one split-second it looked as though Lily had gotten through to him, but then he sighed and answered, "I love Duncan; _he's_ the ideal child. He'll understand eventually. Besides, he hates that girl now and would probably enjoy her further – and very public – humiliation."

Lily looked away from her father's eyes – eyes that she'd inherited and now couldn't stand to look at anymore. The hurt she felt hearing Jake's favoritism was hidden away with practiced ease in a corner of her mind as she tried one last desperate time. "What about mom? Doesn't she mean anything to you? Anything at all Jake?"

Jake got up from his seat and walked over to the door. Then he stopped and said, "She only stays with me because of the money I provide and the son I've given her."

Again the pang of hurt was hidden away before Lily stood up as well and said with shiny eyes, "Why? Divorce mom and go live with Lianne and let Veronica stay with her _real father_." Lily emphasized the last two words and noticed the immediate darkening of her father's eyes. _Might as well go for broke_ , Lily thought and added coldly, "at least Keith Mars knows how to be a devoted parent…"

Jake straightened up and said with a final tone in his voice, "I will destroy Keith Mars and in doing so your friend will suffer too. Make her love her mother so Lianne won't be so heartbroken. Veronica has refused to act like a real daughter. She doesn't appreciate all of Lianne's hard work to make them a unit. Now, will you help me make my beloved happy?"

Lily looked at the expensive carpet beneath her feet and knew she couldn't put her best friend through more pain _. It's better that she's gonna hate me than lose even more of her father than she already has_. A second later Lily looked up and stared Jake in the eyes and answered with a broken voice and a heavy heart, "Yes, I'll help you…"

"LILY!"

Celeste's shriek jerked Lily out of her dream of her meeting with her father and she quickly sat up with a pounding heart. "What?" she yelled back and in the next moment the door was opened with a bang. "That _friend_ off yours is on her way up the driveway! Get her away from here, I don't want her here."

Lily's already aching heart turned literally painful as she hurried out of bed and threw on some clothes. _For almost a whole week I've tried cutting down my time with her_ , Lily thought and ran out to the bathroom and quickly combed her hair, _I know she's hurt about my abandonment, but I just can't figure out how to start doing my part of the deal to make her "love" Lianne_.

Finished with the superficial grooming, Lily grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs and ignored Celeste, who was now talking tightlipped with a sour looking Duncan. _I'll try to start today so Jake won't threaten me again_ , Lily thought with new found determination. _I won't have him ruin my best friend!_

A few steps later Lily exited the front door and locked eyes with Veronica. In that moment her determination wavered again _. I miss you_ ; her mind screamed out along with a profound, _please don't hate me_! Then she all but flinched when she realized that Veronica was staring at her with a confused look in her blue eyes. "Veronica? What are you doing here? I was supposed to pick you up in," Lily checked her watch and blushed when she realized just how late she really was – driving Veronica had been the one thing she'd still allowed herself the luxury of doing, "…ten minutes ago," she finished and looked back up with sheepish smile.

Veronica didn't smile back and Lily recognized the stubborn look in her eyes and wasn't surprised when the smaller girl asked bluntly, "What's wrong?" _Careful Kane_ , Lily told herself, _she's like a dog with a bone now,_ _gotta distract her!_ "Everything's just fine Veronica. What's up with you today; I know I'm running a bit late, but that's no reason for you to walk over here "behind enemy lines."

Veronica deflated and Lily hid a relieved sigh and a moment later she started the car and listened to Veronica's rant about her morning so far. Lily resisted the need to whimper and whine, when she realized that in ranting so passionately about her stupid mother, Veronica was setting things up perfectly for Lily. _Here goes nothing_ , Lily thought and took a deep breath before she began phase one of her father's stupid plan.

"Let me out of this damned car Lily!" _That's gotta be a record for me_ , Lily decided as she followed Veronica's demand and pulled over so Veronica could leave the vehicle. _I've alienated my best friend in less than three minutes. Go me…_

Lily watched Veronica in the rearview mirror until she couldn't see the other blonde anymore and then the tears came. Angry at herself, Lily didn't allow them to grow into a full on cry session and she quickly wiped her eyes and drove the last mile to school without letting the betrayed look on Veronica's face haunt her. Well, she tried to at least.

When she arrived at school, Lily jumped out of the car and walked to class – eager to throw her mind into something else. She slid into her seat and listened carefully to the teacher's long explanation of the war in some country, but it didn't last more than ten minutes.

Lily sighed and looked around the classroom and spotted Madison and Shelley Pomeroy. Madison was giggling with a mocking expression on her face, but to Lily's satisfaction she paled and stopped smiling the moment she laid eyes on Lily. Apparently she hadn't forgotten their last meeting.

 _I wish it was that easy to intimidate Jake_ , Lily pondered as she gave up listening to the teacher completely and began filing her nails. _I threatened Madison and she won't do anything because of it. That's the same tactic Jake used on me –and on Veronica's dad. What if I could turn the tables on him?_

Suddenly Lily was struck with an idea so simple she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it sooner and she ignored the class's mutterings as she gathered her things and stood up and proclaimed arrogantly over her shoulder to the befuddled teacher, "I just got a visit from my monthly friend – going to the nurse for some tampons; I hope you don't mind…" She was out the door before the blushing male teacher could work out a decent reply.

Lily hurried outside and scanned the parking lot for Logan's car. She found it a moment later and sighed with relief. _I'll need his help_ ; she thought and turned back around to locate her ex lover. Fortunately for her, it seemed like Logan's interest in class that morning was on the same level as hers and she ran right into him a few moments later.

"Whoa," she heard him chuckle lightly and Lily frowned immediately. "Are you drunk?" she asked without even saying good morning. Logan's chuckle turned into a small laugh. "Yeah, you could call it that," he answered and ran his hand through his hair.

 _I'll deal with that later_ , Lily thought and jumped right into her explanation. "Whatever – I was actually looking for you. I need your help." Logan copied her earlier frown - albeit slowly due to his before mentioned state – and said, "What do you need? Everything cool?"

Lily smiled, happy in the knowledge that no matter what Logan would always help when he was needed. "Yeah. I'm in trouble. I need you to track down Cindy Mackenzie, a dark haired girl with blue bangs …Or at least they were blue the last time I saw her, it tends to change a lot, but anyway," Lily shook her head and continued with her quick explanation, "Track her down and convince her to go talk to me one on one in the girl's bathroom after lunch, please?"

Logan crossed his arms and said, "Uhm, you know I'd do anything for ya babe, but why do I have to talk to the weird kid, whom I've never spoken a full sentence to before, when you could just as easily just corner her and talk to her about whatever it is that needs talking about?"

Lily smiled a bit embarrassed and decided to answer truthfully, "I'm not proud of it, 'cause Veronica always told me to be nice – even before the accident – but there was an incident once where Madison, Caitlin, Shelley and I sort of stole her clothes during gym so she had to stay in the locker room naked until the janitor found her and borrowed her some work clothes and…well, let's just say there were pictures involved and leave it at that. The girl likes V, but ain't happy about me. Which I completely understand –that's why I need you, who can charm the pants off anyone. Please."

Lily let all her desperation shine through her eyes and even in his obvious intoxicated state, Logan didn't appear to be immune and he agreed a few seconds later. "Fine, I'll find her and send her your way. Now can I go – I was on my way outside for some fresh air."

Lily beamed – feeling almost happy for the first time that day, now that her plan was underway and nodded. "I'll come with; I need a breather before next class too." To Lily's surprise and slight sadness she saw Logan look almost annoyed about her presence. _Why doesn't he want me to tag along?_ she thought, but the thought instantly vanished from her mind, when she spotted Veronica talking to Weevil in the quad.

Lily expected Logan to stiffen in jealousy beside her, but when it didn't happen, she turned her head and looked closely at him for the first time that morning. He was paler than usual with big bags under his eyes and his nose was a bit red and swollen. As she watched him, Logan muttered blankly, "Stop gawking, I'm just going through a killer cold Lils." Then he sniffed as though trying to emphasize his point.

Out of the corner of her eye Lily spotted Veronica getting up and wobbling a bit and she forgot Logan and his bad excuse as she remembered that Veronica had looked seriously sick in the car before she'd demanded to be let out. _I really hope my plan will work so I can focus on V's health again…_

To Lily's relief Veronica seemed to quickly recover and she watched her sickly thin friend coming over to them. Or Logan as it was, because Lily watched in silent hurt how Veronica completely ignored her and made plans with Logan without her.

"…meet up after school and then you can drive me home too." The words was like salt on an open wound for Lily and she understood that this was Veronica's way of letting her know that she no longer was needed for anything. _It won't be forever_ , Lily tried to comfort herself when the pain seemed almost unbearable. _I'm doing this to make peace in the end_.

The bell rang and Lily stood next to Logan and watched in sad silence as Veronica disappeared to class. _It's for the best_ ; she tried to tell herself once more and took a deep breath. In the midst of her inwardly pep-talk she spotted Weevil's eyes in her direction. Without really allowing her mind to decide, her head turned fully in his direction and they locked eyes.

Logan muttered something unintelligible and began walking away. She nodded without really listening and just said, "Remember to tell Mac that it's important that we meet as soon as possible, okay?" Logan didn't answer, but Lily didn't notice as her mind was being taken over by Weevil's intense stare. _God I miss him_ , Lily thought out in a rare act of reality. _But he thinks I'm disgusting_ , the more pitying and unforgiving part of her added and with a tremendous amount of willpower Lily managed to rip her eyes away from Weevil and walk to her next class.

Except for the fact that she never did make it to her next class.

Halfway there, Lily suddenly felt a warm hand wrap itself around her waist and unceremoniously drag her into the eraser room. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled – already knowing who her kidnapper was.

Weevil's chuckle was dark and Lily's breath hitched as her body vividly remembered other times spent in this very room. "I wanted to chat with you," was all the biker boy said. Lily didn't get a chance to respond, because Weevil quickly took a few steps towards her and invaded her personal space. "I think we need to, don't you?"

Lily shot down the memory of the other conversation which had started a lot like this one and said with cool arrogance that would have made Celeste proud, "I think you've said all there is to be said, don't you?"

Weevil smiled, but it wasn't the usual evil smirking smile and Lily didn't quite know how to deal with that. "No, I don't think so," he replied after a long minute of heavy silence.

"Well, I do," Lily said and stepped back until her back hit the wall behind her. "You can go talk with Veronica if you have any issues you need help with."

Weevil's smile turned softer and he reached out a hand to her injured side and said, "I've talked enough with V for today. Now I wanna talk to you – we do have things that need to be said."

Lily almost leaned into the touch, but then she felt a wave of revulsion hit her when she remembered just how hideous she was now and turned her face away from his warm touch. _He is disgusted by me, so this is obviously some kind of scam to humiliate me_ , Lily told herself and tried to tell her aching heart she didn't care.

A warm hand gently grabbed her chin and turned her head towards him again. "I like looking at your beautiful eyes Lily – don't shy away from me-"

"Stop that," Lily interrupted harshly and tried in vain to rip her head away.

"No," Weevil said and stepped closer, "I think you need to hear me out for once. There's no chance of escaping this time." He paused and then continued when she still wouldn't look at him. "I love you Lily and I want a second chance."

Lily felt her entire body freeze. Inside her mind was screaming. How _can he love me? I'm hideous! Off course he doesn't love me; he's trying to get me to do something so I'll be humiliated!_ Then she met his dark eyes and a small part of her realized Weevil was being truthful. "You don't love me," she told him with a quivering voice. "You just want me to sex you up – preferably in dark rooms where no one can see you with me, I'd imagine," she added with bitterness laced in her voice.

Weevil sighed and hid his head in the crook between her neck and shoulder. "I love being sexed up by you," he admitted a moment later, but then he looked back at her with unwavering honesty in his eyes. "But that's not all there is to us. You know the real me and I know you; the loyal, sweet, fiercely protective woman, who's heartbroken about her parent's abandonment. I love the entire crazy package."

"But you said," Lily tried again – almost desperate to make him understand that he couldn't love a disgusting person like her.

Weevil stepped back before she managed to finish her sentence and turned on the light in the dark room, so she was entirely bathed in light. Lily blinked and they stood for a few seconds, waiting for their visions to return, before Weevil said, "I know I've said a lot of stupid shit to you baby, but I'm human. The whole time we were together, you were publicly with Echolls, who you're still hanging around like a loyal puppy – despite the fact that anyone with eyes can see he's totally hung up on V. I…" Weevil hesitated and Lily leaned forward unable to resist the story. "I put up with that, 'cause I loved you back then too. Then I found out about the accident and yeah, I panicked the first time I saw you, but not 'cause I couldn't stand to look at you. Because I know you and I knew how you would feel about the whole thing and I felt sorry for you because I knew your self-image would explode after that. But don't you see," Weevil added with a gentle look in his eyes that made Lily's water. "To me, you're still the most beautiful girl in the world."

Weevil reached up to the ceiling and grabbed hold of the lamp screen and pointed the light onto Lily's upper body and face. Lily immediately shied away, feeling vulnerable in the sudden burst of light. "Don't," Weevil demanded and walked over to her. "Don't turn away from me. If you'd let me I'd walk outside with you next to me – letting the world know you're my woman."

Lily closed her eyes to shield herself from the brutal and caring honesty in his face. A second later she felt his soft lips touch hers in an even softer kiss. Warmth spread out into Lily's entire body, just like it'd always done whenever they'd kissed before the accident. Lily sighed into the kiss and without realizing it; she opened her mouth so Weevil could deepen the kiss. His tongue entered her mouth and they played together as brilliantly as ever. _I love you too_ , Lily thought in the midst of the gentle growing passion.

Suddenly the images of Veronica, Logan, and Duncan flew into her mind and the memory of all the secrets she had to keep brought Lily back to life. She ended the kiss with a dry sob and pushed the PCH'er away and ran out the door before he even got a chance to try and stop her from leaving. "I'm sorry," she murmured and ran to the nearest restroom and locked herself inside an empty stall.

How long she sat in there Lily didn't know or even care about. She was too caught up in her crying. Whenever the door opened and someone entered the restroom, she tried to hold it in long enough so that no one would notice. Which was why Lily jumped in surprise when she heard a gentle voice ask outside her stall, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered and blew her nose without caring about listeners anymore. "Come on Kane," the voice continued and Lily finally recognized it as Mac's of all people, "I've been standing here for a long time and listening to you – and you're not fine."

Lily rolled her eyes and slowly straightened up. A few seconds later she exited the stall with her chin held high as she made her way to the sinks so she could splash some cold water on her face. When she had dried her face and reapplied some much needed mascara, Lily turned back to Mac with a fake smile. "I'm so glad Logan managed to convince you to come and find me. Sorry about the whole weeping willow thing, I'm always a bit weepy when I have my period."

Mac smiled and shook her head when she heard the lame and clearly not true excuse, but then she furrowed her brows in confusion. "What did you mean about Logan? Logan Echolls? I've never really talked to him. Does he need someone to do his homework for him, 'cause I'm telling you right now, I might be a proud geek, but I'm not doing algebra for two people, I'm barely coping with my own load."

Lily crossed her arms and leaned up against the sinks _. Hmm, I guess he hasn't gotten around to talking to her yet_ ; she mused and quickly explained how she'd asked him to bring Mac to her. And then she apologized sincerely about the whole gym incident.

Mac's face turned serious for a second and then she said, "You're forgiven. You can't be all bad if Veronica likes you." She smiled at her own joke, but then turned serious again, when Lily didn't smile back. "About that," Lily said, "I need two things from you and I'll pay you whatever you want. First off, I need your loyalty. What I'm about to tell you goes no further or else I swear to God I'll go to jail for murder. Okay?"

Mac nodded without joking and Lily smiled a small smile, "and secondly," she continued and stood up straight and looked Mac straight in the eyes, "I need you to hack Jake Kane's personal files, which I'll get you the password to, and find something – anything that I can use to blackmail him with. It's truly a matter of life and death."

Mac's eyes widened at the thought of hacking into Neptune's own golden child's computers. "If I get caught?" she asked quietly – all business.

Lily's respect for the independent girl grew and she answered, "I'll take full responsibility." Mac looked thoughtful for another minute or so, but then she cracked a beaming smile and said, "Well, I'm always up for a challenge!"

This time Lily answered the smile and took a deep breath – pushing the rendezvous with Weevil out of her mind so she could focus on fixing her friend's life. _And then Veronica will be back to her old kickass self again and we can put this whole thing behind us…_ "Okay, here's what I need from you first," Lily said and Mac listened attentively for the next fifteen minutes as they came up with a workable plan to take out the problem that was Jake Kane.

Several hours later Lily was fuming as she pulled up at her house. "I can't believe she'd compare me to Celeste!" Lily was muttering angrily as she entered the house a moment later. Consuela quickly dove out of the way when she saw and recognized the angry vibes that the eldest Kane child was sending out.

Duncan wheeled in front of her and stopped her path. Lily's anger grew and she snapped, "What the hell do you want now Donut?" Duncan's face reddened and Lily relished at the sight. _I'm not gonna be the only one in my life with a crappy day_ , she thought.

"Why was Veronica here this morning?" Duncan yelled when he'd gotten control over himself. Lily knew that if it had been possible he might just have stomped his foot in a childish fit.

"That's none of your damn business," Lily screamed, "according to Celeste and Jake you hate her, so butt out of my life!" Filled with a rage that she'd seldom had been before Lily grabbed hold of her brother's wheelchair and pushed it out of the way before she ran up to her room and locked the door behind her.

"I hate all of you!" Lily roared childishly and threw the nearest vase into the wall and she loved the sound of the crash, so she quickly scanned the room and took all of her breakable items and threw them into the walls with gusto. Ten minutes later she sank down to the floor, spent after an emotional day. _Two fights with my best friend, a emotional conversation with the guy I love and a secret scheme_ …Lily sighed at the thought of her day and then laughed darkly, _at least this day can't get any worse_ , she added mentally and hid her face in her hands.

In the next moment her cell phone rang and something cold ran down Lily's spine and she just knew that her day had gotten worse than ever. She answered the phone – holding her breath. "Hello?"

"Lily! She's…I'm…I don't know what to do – I was doing CPR and then they finally came and… Oh God, oh God, oh God," Logan's broken voice hurt Lily's insides more than her previous sadness ever could. There were frantic sounds in the background and Lily clearly heard someone yell that the blood pressure was dropping fast. Logan continued wildly when she didn't respond immediately, "Oh God, they're taking her to the hospital! Lily please come! It's all my fault – if she dies…"

"Logan!" Lily yelled firmly, bringing him back from his panic attack, "Find out what hospital and then I'll be right there!" An agonizingly long minute later Logan told her and Lily ran to her car and drove faster than she'd ever driven before, all the while trying to talk sense into a now completely silent Logan.

It took Lily ten – almost fifteen – minutes to reach the hospital, and she ignored the screaming orders to park elsewhere as she carelessly stopped in front of the entrance and ran inside to find out if her best friend was still alive.

The next thing Lily knew, she was standing next to Logan, who looked more dead than alive. She embraced him, but quickly let go when he flinched at her touch. "Logan," she said softly, "have you heard anything?"

Logan looked down at her and Lily's breath hitched when she looked into his eyes. They were dead and completely devoid of emotion. "The paramedics said she'd recovered consciousness in the ambulance and that her blood pressure was getting better. They're keeping her at least over night to observe her, because her heart stopped…and they mentioned something about her weight."

Lily nodded, she was itching to go find Veronica and make sure for herself that the other girl was indeed alive, but the empty look in Logan's eyes scared her shitless – the frantic boy, who'd called her not even thirty minutes ago was no longer there, and she chose to stay next to her other best friend to offer silent comfort.

They stood beside one another for more than an hour and neither of them broke the silence once – content enough to just wait for news from the doctors.

Suddenly their silent moment was ruined by Aaron and Lynne Echolls, who came rushing in with different expressions on their faces. Lynne looked pale and distraught and her eyes travelled from Lily to Logan full of unspoken concern. Aaron's face however chilled Lily to the core. _He looks livid_ , she thought. _Why's he so angry? It's not like Veronica did it on purpose – and Logan hasn't done anything wrong._

In that moment her last thought was proven wrong by Aaron as he withdrew a small see-through bag full of very easily recognizable white powder and Lily felt her jaw go slack as she began to understand Logan's odd behavior over the last week. "What do you think you're doing with this?" Aaron's voice was evil and quiet. Lily didn't have another word for it and she stepped back before she even knew she was doing it.

Logan lifted his head and stared emotionlessly into his father's angry eyes without answering. Aaron's displeasure about the lack of reply was almost touchable and Lily wondered if she should call security. _Logan's an ass and in so much trouble when we get out of here, but if Aaron touches him I'll have to step in_. _Logan is still suffering from the last beating…_

"Answer me boy! I come home just as an ambulance is pulling out of my driveway," Aaron almost yelled and then he threw the bag of drugs into Lynne's arms and took a firm hold in Logan's shirt and pulled him closer to mutter quietly, "If you and your little blonde bimbo have been getting high in my house, I'll kill you. Do you have any idea what the press will think of my parenting when they find out about your drug use?"

Lily wanted to roll her eyes and scream at the much larger male that he wasn't exactly a role model parent even without the drugs, but she was frozen in place by her fear. Aaron continued a bit louder, when Logan still didn't reply, "If that little whore dies because of an overdose you're responsible for then—". "Don't. Call. Her. That." Logan's voice was even colder than his father's and Lily realized that Aaron could have said anything to his son, except badmouth Veronica Mars.

Aaron's expression was almost comical and Lily resisted a nervous giggle at the sight. "What did you say to me?" he asked and Logan simply repeated his earlier words in the same tone of voice.

"Maybe we should just try to relax," Lily said quickly when she noticed Aaron's clenched fists. She stepped closer, ignoring her fear as she tried to calm down the two large men.

Aaron jumped a little and Lily doubted he'd known she was there until she'd spoken, but then he turned towards her with a menacing glare on his handsome face, "Keep out of this – this is family business Kane! Now that we're in a hospital, maybe you should see if there's a plastic surgeon who can fix that god awful face of yours."

Lily's temper rose and she was about to throw a major fit, but she never got the chance, because in the next moment Aaron was on the floor – out cold. She looked up at a panting Logan, who was looking down at his unconscious father with an almost awed look in his face. Then he looked over at her with a weak imitation of his usual smirk, "I finally got him…"

Lily nodded and pressed a hand towards her fast beating heart and tried to come down from her adrenaline rush. Lynne quickly stopped the arriving security from taking Logan with them and pointed down at Aaron. "He threatened us and insulted us and my son didn't know what else to do. Put him in the maserati outside and I'll take him home. No wait," Lynne added with a thoughtful look in her eyes as they all watched the guards hoist Aaron to his feet, "I think I want to press charges. Let's all go to the police station where I can reveal how much my husband has beaten me over the years and then get him the heck out of our lives for good."

Lily watched in growing respect how much Lynne changed in front of her. In a matter of minutes she'd taken control over things for the first time in her marriage and judging from the loon on Logan's face, he too was dumbstruck by his mother's sudden dominance and take charge attitude.

"Well," Lily finally said after they'd watched Aaron being carried out, followed by a cheerful Lynne, "I guess this means you're free from him."

Logan nodded slowly and flexed his hand and winced. "Maybe," he said and Lily rolled her eyes when he didn't call out for a doctor to check out his hand. She quickly did it for him and watched the doctor examine him expertly right out in the hallway.

Lily used the free moment to track down another doctor who confirmed Logan's earlier assessment on Veronica and for the first time Lily relaxed. _After Mac has found what I need, then I'm gonna sit us all down and then we can let it all out in the open,_ she promised herself as she made her way back to Logan's side.

He was sitting with his head leaned back against the wall and Lily saw that he'd been graced with a bandage around his right wrist. Lily sat down quietly next to him and they say in silence for a few minutes before Lily yawned and placed her head on his shoulder and stated calmly, "I'm so gonna rip you a new one later about the drug thing."

Lily could feel his answering sigh in her whole body as he said, "Yeah, I kindda figured that one out for myself. But you have to get in line behind Veronica," Logan added.

Lily smiled a little. "I can deal with that."

A little while after the doctor took them to Veronica's room and they watched her sleep without speaking – both too engrossed in their own thoughts. When the nurse came in fifteen minutes later to check up on things, she found both of the visitors sleeping peacefully, curled up around the still sleeping patient.

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know certain things in this story is unbelivable and not based in reality, but this is a work of fiction based on a 16 year old P.I. solving murders etc...


	13. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please remember I'm not a doctor so I really don't know what I'm talking about...And Logan's druguse might be huge considering how little time has passed, but it fit, so I hope it'll be accepted as "real". I had so much I wanted to happen and I had to cut some scenes out so it wouldn't get too repetitive (I hope I succeeded). Sorry for the wait!

**CHAPTER TWELVE: LOGAN  
**

"Logan, honey – you really should get up…"

The voice of his mother slowly roused Logan from his deep, almost catatonic sleep, and he groaned when he became aware of the sunshine pouring in through the thin curtains. He also had an uncomfortable burning in his throat and he briefly wondered if the discomfort was enough for him to call in sick that day.

Another long minute went by before Logan eventually pulled himself together long enough to stumble out of the bed and proceed inside his bathroom.

Logan stood in front of the sink and readied his toothbrush. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he caught his own eyes in the mirror and froze _. I look like crap_ , he thought honestly and he could already feel the familiar pinch of disappointment over himself and his choices of late begin to surface.

The whole drug business was supposed to be a one-time thing, but before Logan really knew how, he'd been completely taken over again – and again. _It hasn't even been a week and you're already hooked_ ; Logan scolded himself and began brushing his teeth with a vengeance.

When Logan was finished getting ready for the day, he walked back out to the bedroom and grabbed his bag. He had almost reached the door when his eyes automatically glanced up to the airshaft where he'd hidden the drugs he hadn't used yet. "Don't," he muttered to himself, but even as he tried to find the strength to ignore the call of the substance, Logan felt his body move and a moment later he left his room with both the drugs and the disappointment over himself firmly by his side.

 _I won't take anything until after school_ , Logan argued internally as he walked mutely past his mother and took a cup of coffee. The warm beverage soothed his aching throat and Logan suddenly remembered that embarrassingly loud volume he'd used as he drove home the night before. He'd been happily singing along to some song on the radio and then he'd randomly burst into a screaming fit, that had gone on until he'd pulled up at the house.

 _At least the stupid drugs makes me act out my real emotions,_ Logan thought and placed the now empty cup in the dishwater and turned to leave for school.

"Oh," he said when he almost stumbled right into his mother. "Walking here," Logan added and he already felt his unstable temper grow a bit, when Lynne didn't move a muscle and looked a lot more courageous than she normally did.

"I need to talk to you," she stated calmly and gestured for him to sit down at the huge counter. "I need you to listen and just be quiet…"

Logan furrowed his brows and did as asked – after all it wasn't often that his mother acted like this. "What's up?" he asked after a moments silence, where Lynne had only managed to cough an awkward cough behind her well manicured hand.

"Well," Lynne began slowly, "I guess, I just wanted you to know that – despite my behavior in the past – I'm here for you."

Logan crossed his arms defensively and leaned back and eyed his mother coolly. "What are you talking about?"

Lynne sighed and uncharacteristically, she ran a hand through her dark hair before she answered quietly without making eye contact. "I've been there Logan. Hell, I'm still there with all the stuff I drink whenever your fa…I mean, when I'm feeling down. So…" Lynne paused, but then shifted her eyes up to find her son's, "I know you're doing drugs and…I guess, I want you to stop and be the best man you can be."

Shocked, Logan grunted out a mocking laugh and stood up, "Thanks for the parental pep talk mom, but I don't know what kind of drugs you're doing to think that I'd stoop that low _. Again_ , his internal voice added silently.

Logan watched Lynne's posture change back into the one she usually wore and he honestly didn't know whether he should be relieved that she quit so easily or angry.

"Now," he settled on saying, "I'm gonna be late for school – and what good little boy would I be if I didn't show up and follow my glorious teacher's lectures? They're doing their job for a crappy pay, you know."

Logan turned and walked quickly towards the front door, but before he could open it and get to his car, he felt his mother's warm hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna bother you again," she said softly and squeezed his shoulder gently, "but if you change your mind – I'll be there. And…you really shouldn't blow up at Mrs. Navarro like you did yesterday – it's not nice - she's one of our best helpers and I don't want to lose her."

Logan stood immobile for a long second as forgotten memories immediately flooded his system. He remembered how he'd stumbled inside after his screaming tantrum and Weevil's grandmother had helped him off with his jacket and then his wallet had fallen out and suddenly Logan had accused her of stealing one of his credit cards which he'd been unable to find earlier that evening. The old woman had paled and tried to explain that she'd never do such a thing, but Logan hadn't listened and had walked into his room after a scathing last remark about her being poor and a thief.

Shame – pure unaltered shame – rose inside him and Logan quickly decided to track down the housekeeper to apologize and maybe get her a bonus.

After Logan had made up his mind, he then somehow managed to fall back into his usual character and he smirked coolly down at his mother and walked to his car without another word.

Logan drove into the high school's parking lot and quickly parked the X-terra and got out of the car. The already sharp sunlight burned his hurting eyes though, and he quickly turned around and found his sunglasses, which were lying on the passenger seat.

"Argh, this is nice," Logan muttered, when the dark shades hid the brutal sun from his eyes and he grabbed his bag and slowly walked inside.

On the way Logan passed the PCH'ers and he was happy he'd worn the sunglasses, when Thumper discreetly smirked knowingly up at him. A part of Logan wanted nothing more than to charge the other male, but realistically he knew that Thumper wasn't the actual problem; he'd just been an easy way in. _Besides_ , Logan thought and walked by the group without acknowledging them, _there's ten to one and even I can't beat those odds._

Logan went to class and sat down in the back. He quickly scanned the room, waiting to see Veronica, but when the teacher entered and closed the door, she was nowhere to be seen.

 _I haven't seen much of her lately_ ; Logan realized when he thought back at the week. _I know I've been avoiding her and Lily a bit – so they wouldn't find out about the drugs – but Veronica should be here._

Logan missed seeing her face, hell, he just missed the girl. _I'll call her later to see if she's okay_.

"Mr. Echolls?"

Logan flinched out of his thoughts and looked up at the teacher. "Yeah?" he answered slowly. The pain in the throat wasn't entirely gone and he really wasn't up for a lot of talking.

"It's not allowed to wear sunglasses in my classes," the stuffy old teacher informed the Echolls heir.

Logan sighed mockingly, but he didn't have the same edge to it as he used to, so without saying anything, he removed the shades.

As the hour droned on, Logan began feeling more and more agitated and it felt like the light in the room was slowly turning into tiny little needles, poking his skin painfully. A stab of pain flared through his nerves in a violent twitch and Logan finally gave up. _There's no way I'm waiting until after school_ , he thought and abruptly stood up.

The teacher tried to glare up at him, but Logan didn't let it faze him as he simply announced, "I need a potty break."

Logan didn't wait for a response; he walked past the other desks and ignored Caitlin Ford, who looked up at him with an almost idolizing look in her not too bright eyes. _Thank god she hasn't been around that much either this past week,_ Logan thought and quickly made his way to the nearest toilet.

Within a matter of minutes Logan had pulled out the out of order sign, which Veronica had made sure Lily and he always carried a copy off in their bags, and placed it so no one would interrupt him. Then he quickly lined up his things and without looking at himself in the mirror, Logan bent down and took a deep breath through the nose.

Logan felt the fake calm rush over him almost instantly and he exhaled a sigh of relief. "Now that's what I'm talking about," he whispered to himself and smiled.

Feeling a lot better, Logan straightened up his things and splashed his pale face with cold water so he would lose a bit of that sleepy expression he usually got whenever he was flying on the happy, so to speak.

He left the restroom with a soft hum and then decided he really didn't want to go back to class. _I've done my part today_ ; Logan thought and grinned stupidly out into the thin air.

Suddenly he was almost run over by the whirlwind known as Lily Kane and he stumbled backwards a lot less gracefully than normally.

"Whoa," he chuckled when the fast movement caused the world to spin and his vision to sparkle with odd colors for a short second. _Snap out of it Echolls_ , Logan's more sensible side demanded, _Lils is one of the people, who knows you the best – she's gonna know something's up with you._ Logan added superiorly to his logic self, _no way is she going to know, she didn't last time around._

 _Or then again maybe not_ , Logan thought with a small laugh a moment later, when Lily bluntly asked if he was drunk.

"Yeah," he answered and ran a hand through his uncombed hair, "you could call it that." _Or I'm high on drugs, but what's the difference?_ Logan thought with an air of teasing to his internal voice.

Apparently his answer didn't convince his ex-lover completely, because Logan distinctly heard her mutter, "Whatever," before she continued in a louder tone of voice, "I was actually looking for you. I need your help."

 _Help? I can help – I can't help myself, but I'll do anything for you and Ronnie_ , Logan thought slowly and ignored that part of him that was just dying for a good inappropriate giggle session and tried to look serious as he asked, "What do you need? Everything cool?"

A few minutes later Lily had managed to get a promise of help out of him and Logan felt a sudden need to get away from those trusting eyes she sent so undeserving his way and he added, "…Now can I go – I was on my way outside for some fresh air."

To Logan's surprise Lily burst into a wide smile that lit up her face and reminded him why he'd originally fallen for her, and said, "I'll come with; I need a breather before next class too."

 _Damn, I can't risk being around her for too long, she'll realize something is up. Why can't she just leave me alone?_ The not so friendly thoughts swirled around inside Logan as they made their way outside in silence.

The drug induced high was getting lower and Logan cursed internally. _I gotta take another dose to get through this day,_ he thought. Then he became aware of Lily's not so subtle stare and he muttered calmly, "Stop gawking. I'm just going through a killer cold Lils."

Logan sniffed for emphasis, but he didn't think she bought it and warily waited for one of her snarky remarks. Fortunately for Logan though, it seemed like the fiery blonde had directed her attention elsewhere.

Logan followed her eyes and took a deep breath when he laid his sight on Veronica. The sunlight shined down on her and made her look like an angel; a beautiful, glowing angel with pale skin and bright blue eyes in the color of the morning sky. _Okay_ , Logan thought wryly and blinked once to try and get his eyes back to a somewhat more normal state, _now I know I get poetic when I'm high – nice to know._

Logan blinked again and tried to look casual and unworried when Veronica first stumbled a bit and then made her way over to Lily and him. Out of the corner of his eye, Logan watched Weevil eye Veronica with clear concern written all over his face and he clenched his fists in a sudden burst of anger. _She's mine!_

Logan was ripped out of his possessive declarations when Veronica stopped right in front of him and said, "I need a word Logan." He watched in fascination as her gorgeous eyes turned to blue steel when she added, "Alone."

Logan blinked slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the girl he was in love with had chosen him first for once. _Anything you want_ , he thought happily, but then Logan remembered his earlier promise to the surprisingly silent Lily by his side and he quickly explained that he had to seek out that geeky brainiac girl.

 _Aw damn, now I hurt her feelings_ , Logan thought when he saw a quick stab of sadness in Veronica's eyes before they turned blank.

"Okay," she said after a moment's pause, "let's meet up after school and then you can drive me home too."

Logan smiled widely and watched Veronica run to the class. Then the forgotten pain in his throat and eyes suddenly burst to life and Logan exhaled a soft sigh of pain. He quickly glanced around and noticed the Weevil hadn't moved after his talk with Veronica, but that was of no concern to the Echolls heir at that moment.

 _I have to take a bit more to keep my good spirits going today_ , Logan thought in a rising panic and quickly left Lily, muttering something unintelligent and not caring whether or not she heard him. _I can't turn into boring Logan when I have to talk to Veronica later. Got to be at the top of my game!_

It didn't take long before Logan had jumped into his car and driven down to the beach for some privacy. And it took even less time for him to take another couple of lines to calm his nerves down.

It was only when the world turned a vast amount of colors and his movements turned extremely slow that Logan wondered if he shouldn't have taken so much – but it was too late, he fell asleep in the next minute, completely forgetting all his earlier promises.

When Logan came too several hours later, the promises he'd made were the last thing on his mind. His entire body twitched and made damn sure its inhabitant knew it was not in a happy place at the moment.

Logan groaned and blindly reached out and grabbed his abandoned sunglasses from the empty seat next to him. His head pounded so hard that Logan briefly wondered if his brain was trying to escape his head.

After a few minutes Logan finally deemed himself somewhat alive again and he gently started the car and drove carefully back to his house to try and get the pain to disappear.

Logan took a deep breath and winced; a shower probably wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Ten minutes later Logan pulled up to the Echolls mansion and his spirit lifted a bit when he noticed that his car was the only one present. Logan exited the car and winced again when he slammed the car door a bit too loudly for his sensitive ears.

After the shower Logan wandered around the house feeling restless and he didn't like it. Normally he'd call either Dick or the two most important females in his life to distract him.

_Oh shit!_

With sudden clarity Logan remembered and understood why he felt so jittery. He quickly looked at the nearest clock on the wall and cursed out loud. _It's way too late to do anything about it_ , Logan tried to reason with himself, but the self loathing was already rising up to remind him what a horrible person he was.

"This day sucks," Logan muttered and punched the wall in an attempt to get his internal pain out. All it managed to do was give him an additional dull ache in his right hand and Logan sighed and he ran a hand through his hair.

 _Maybe I should call Veronica and apologize?_ He pondered as walked over to the refrigerator and took a couple of ice cubes and wrapped a towel around them and put the whole thing around his smarting hand. _Nah, she won't understand that I didn't mean too. And Lily will probably just scream at me and I can't stand that right now._

After a few minutes Logan threw the towel at the counter and walked out to the car and grabbed his bag with his remaining drugs for the day and in another minute he'd entered the pool house and turned on the music to try and take his mind of his guilt.

Out of the corner of his eye Logan noticed that the bed in the room wasn't made and he frowned questioningly. _Looks like someone's been getting busy in here_.

Logan shuddered at the thought and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the bed had been vigorously used by his father – and more importantly _not_ his mother. _Mom would never risk being caught out here by the help._

Unable to stand it, Logan walked over and made the bed. He tried to push away the guesses on who it was that Aaron was cheating on his mother with this time, but vivid images of the last female who he'd caught Aaron with, kept making their existence known.

With a loud sigh, Logan finished the self-inflicted chore and sat down at the chair at the computer desk and silently readied all his things for another dose of happy time.

Just as Logan finished his lane and sat back with his eyes closed, he suddenly felt a familiar tingle in his neck, but he ignored it and kept his eyes closed.

In the next second they snapped open, when Logan heard Veronica's angry sounding voice, "what the _hell_ do you think you're doing to yourself Logan?"

Logan's mind immediately flooded with good and not so good excuses for what she'd just witnessed, _maybe she'll buy that it's prescribed?_ But as soon as his eyes fell on Veronica, Logan swallowed them all down and began hesitantly, "Veronica -"

"Are you stupid?" Veronica interrupted with an almost feral look in her eyes and Logan stopped talking as she continued angrily, "Why are you doing this to yourself? I thought you had more brainpower than that!"

All of Logan's initial excuses and apologies faded away and anger took its place. _She did not just say that, that hypocritical little-_ Logan took a deep breath and leaned casually back in his chair and said coolly, "Look who's preaching for the choir. Saint Veronica should sweep before her own door first."

 _Now, that'll probably shut her up long enough to spot her own problems_ , Logan thought and raised his lip up into a mocking smirk when he watched Veronica cross her arms defensively and take a deep breath too. _Let's see what she thinks of that one…_

A few minutes later Logan couldn't take any more arguing and he ended it with a cruel remark and told her to leave.

"You really are an asshole," the whispered insult nearly ended him and Logan resisted the urge to go after her and hug her and kiss her until she forgave him for everything.

Veronica's parting words had hurt more than any punch his old man could throw at him and Logan knew why – even in his drug induced high. _I love her._

With a groan Logan ran his hands through his thick locks and finally covered his face with them, making the world go temporally black.

The mixture of his high and his very low emotions after Veronica's departure was more than a little painful and Logan fought with all his might to keep the betrayed look of her beautiful blue eyes out of his mind.

With another – slightly louder – groan Logan slammed his fist down on the desk in front of him and then suddenly all his repressed fury over the fucked up existence that was his life came out and Logan roughly pushed his top of the line computer and everything with it on to the floor with a satisfyingly loud crash.

"Fuck!" he yelled and with another roar, Logan grabbed the desk chair and simply smashed it to the ground over and over again until he panted heavily in exertion. He felt a satisfied grin on his lips and giggled over his silly antics. "Who gives a shit anyhow?" Logan asked out loud and fell to his knees with a headshake.

How long Logan sat there, he couldn't say, but it wasn't long. In the midst of his own breakdown, he suddenly became aware of that uneasy feeling in his spine that usually spelled trouble. _Maybe it's the guilt talking_ , Logan tried to calm himself as he tried to get his drugged body to work properly enough to stand back up again _, I always hated to make Ronnie uncomfortable – even before I realized I was hopelessly in love with her and all that…_

Finally Logan was standing upright again and he walked calmly out of the now very messy pool house. Then all his calm and internal debate of guilt flew right out of the window, because his eyes landed on that horrifyingly still figure in the water in front of him.

"Oh God no," Logan managed to mutter and before he even knew it, his body was in motion. He jumped into the pool and moved faster than he'd ever done in his entire life – desperate to get close enough to that still unmoving body.

It felt like it took forever for him to reach her, but finally Logan slipped his arm around Veronica's thin frame and quickly dragged her to the nearest edge of the pool and pulled her up.

Logan's entire body was running on adrenaline and he'd positioned her on the tiles and checked her pulse and begun CPR before he'd even thought about it.

The feel of her chest bone under his large hands felt so fragile and Logan's vision blurred with tears when his memory provided him with images from the last accident he'd been in where her pale, but determined face had been all that had kept him alive.

"Come on Ronnie, COME ON!" Logan screamed and pressed his lips against her cold ones and desperately tried to breathe life back into her.

The response wasn't what Logan had hoped for. Veronica didn't sit up and spit out some swallowed water like they always did on television. Knowing he was way out of his league, Logan tore himself away from Veronica and ran back inside the pool house and grabbed his abandoned cell phone from the messed up floor and dialed 911.

The moment he'd given his address, Logan was already back at Veronica's side and continued his CPR.

The time flew together and Logan was entirely focused on the fact that as long as he kept doing what he was doing, Veronica wouldn't leave him. "I'm so sorry," he kept murmuring whenever he pushed on her chest and felt the bone creak at the pressure.

Suddenly Logan was pushed away and two paramedics with serious faces took over his compressions and prepared their gear to bring Veronica back to a conscious state.

"What happened?" One of them asked with a professional, yet compassionate tone of voice.

Logan gasped as the panic kept rising inside of him and the paramedic repeated the question. "She—I –We were fighting and then I came out here and she was in the water. She – I think, she's anorexic and I don't know. She's been weak for a long time. Please help her!"

The paramedic nodded and concentrated all his efforts on fulfilling Logan's plea.

Another long moment passed before Logan finally heard the best words he'd ever heard. "She's back."

Instantly Logan was back at Veronica's side and he winced in compassion when he saw her grimace slightly in pain and he whispered desperately, "Oh God, Ronnie, can you hear me?"

Logan growled like an animal, when he felt one of the paramedic's hands on his shoulders as they tried to push him away from Veronica, who had only groaned softly at his question.

"Sir? _Kid,_ listen to me!

Logan felt a hand around his chin and his head was turned against his will so his eyes landed on the youngest looking paramedic, who'd been asking the questions earlier, "We need to take her to the hospital now and get her checked for everything. She was out for a while and we need to make sure she's okay."

Logan nodded mutely and then quickly placed a tender kiss on Veronica's forehead and he whispered in her ear, "I'm so sorry Veronica; please don't leave me. I love you…"

It might have been a figment of his imagination, but Logan thought he saw a small smile on Veronica's lips and he smiled goofily himself.

The young paramedic suddenly barked out that they needed to move, because Veronica's blood pressure was dropping.

"Is that…Will she?" Logan managed to ask as panic immediately resurfaced and the paramedic answered distractedly as they hoisted Veronica up on a gurney, "we won't know until a doctor's checked her out completely. We have to go now, kid."

Logan nodded and quickly followed them and ran inside the ambulance after them and they drove off.

 _She can't die; The last things we said to each other can't be that argument. I can't do this alone_ …

The thoughts swirled in Logan's mind, which was now completely clear for the first time in days. _Apparently the near loss of a loved one is enough to jumpstart the need for clarity in ones system_ , Logan mused distractedly as he grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Lily.

The moment Lily answered, all of Logan's quiet panic burst out and he felt like a little kid crying for his mommy to come make things all better. "Lily! She's…I'm…I don't know what to do – I was doing CPR and then they finally came and…Oh God, Oh God, Oh God."

In the background Logan was aware of the paramedic, who was yelling out to the other that the BP was still dropping fast, but he didn't connect it with his panic attack. "Oh God, they're taking her to the hospital! Lily please come! It's all my fault – if she dies…"

Lily pierced through his panic and demanded to know which hospital Veronica was being brought to and Logan, who was eager to help any way he could, quickly got the information and told the Kane girl.

Then they arrived at the hospital and Logan lost all ability or need to talk back to Lily, who was trying her best to calm him down.

It took a little while before Lily showed up looking absolutely horrified and desperate herself, but Logan didn't have any energy left in him to try and help her. The only thing that was going through his mind on repeat was _; it's my fault…_

When Lily suddenly touched him, all Logan's earlier self-disgust flared up and he recoiled. Luckily Lily didn't say anything about that and only asked if he'd heard any news. He quietly told her what he'd been told by the paramedics just before they'd wheeled her away from his sight.

Logan didn't know nor care how long they stood in the waiting area next to each other – praying that for once Veronica would have just a little luck on her side. _I'll never touch drugs ever again_ , Logan promised and hoped that if there was a God that he'd be willing to accept his offer, _I'll stop fooling around with Dick and concentrate on my school work and become a decent man – just don't take Veronica away from me…Please!_

Suddenly their silent moment was ruined by Aaron and Lynne Echolls, who came rushing in with different expressions on their faces. Lynne looked pale and distraught and her eyes travelled from Lily to Logan full of unspoken concern.

Logan's quick glance at his father told him that Aaron wasn't far away from showing his true nature. _Let him_ , Logan thought dispassionately, _I don't care what he does anymore_.

Logan didn't even feel the least bit afraid when Aaron brought out the evidence of his drug use and in a fit of his usual rage, grabbed hold of Logan's shirt to threaten him. _I don't care about anything anymore – except Veronica's survival._

The only time Logan felt anything was when Aaron called Veronica a whore and Logan immditately said with steel in his voice, "Don't. Call. Her. That."

 _I don't care about anything anymore_ ; Logan thought again and slowly repeated his earlier demand when Aaron tried to test his resolve.

 _Well,_ _almost_ _nothing except Veronica_ , Logan amended honestly when Lily stepped up a second later and tried to break up the growing tension between father and son and was treated to a full on Aaron Echolls psychopath behavior.

Before Logan even realized it his hand had flown out and decked Aaron right on the jaw with years of repressed strength and a second later he was looking calmly down at his unconscious father.

Logan heard Lily's gasp and Lynne's barely audible gleeful chuckle and looked up with a small, tired smirk on his lips, "I finally got him."

Then a lot of things seemed to happen all at once.

Lynne finally stepped up to the parental plate and announced she would leave her abusive husband, Lily tracked down a doctor to bandage his wrist and they shared a brief, but sincere talk about the future. Oh and Lily being Lily threatened to do bodily harm to Logan because of the drugs.

They smiled at each other and stayed in the waiting area until a doctor found them and took them to Veronica's room where they quickly fell asleep next to the very beloved patient.

Logan woke up from his slumber at Veronica's side with a start. Dream images of an all too dead Veronica kept clouding his vision and he didn't feel like sleeping anymore.

Because of the uncomfortable waking, it took a little while before Logan became aware of the fact that he was trembling and he clenched his fists hard – recognizing the signs. _I'm antsy for a new fix_ , he thought and shuddered. _I quit once, I'll do it again somehow! I made a promise to the Almighty after all._

Logan eyed the room and noticed that Lily wasn't there anymore and glanced around a bit more carefully and he spotted a folded piece of paper on Veronica's nightstand with his name on it.

Slowly, so he didn't wake up the sleeping woman next to him, Logan stood up and grabbed it and unbeknownst to himself, he was smiling widely as he read Lily's brief note.

_**Hiya Studly.** _

_**Veronica was awake earlier and we talked about things while you were sleeping – I needed a change of clothes – I'll be back later with some lasagna and we'll force-feed the little one – capische?** _

_**Love ya!** _

"Hey…"

Veronica's quiet greeting got a violent flinch out of him and Logan smiled embarrassed at his skittish nature and put the brief note in his back pocket.

"Hey yourself."

Logan sat down in the chair next to the bed, fidgeted a bit uncomfortably and then slowly looked up into Veronica's big baby blue eyes. He could already feel the burning tears of remorse building in his eyes and he swallowed a lump of shame, before he tried to apologize for everything again.

"Logan," Veronica surprised him by interrupting gently and grabbing a firm hold of his uninjured hand, "You don't need to apologize to me. There's nothing for you to be ashamed of – this," she gestured weakly at her small body, "wasn't your fault. I just hope we'll stop keeping secrets from each other now, 'cause it doesn't exactly bring good times with it."

Logan smiled and pressed his lips against her knuckles before he muttered, "Deal, no more secrets…"

Veronica smiled softly at him and Logan couldn't stand the gentleness he saw in her eyes and he wiped his eyes with a sheepish smile.

To Logan's surprise and great pleasure, Veronica copied his earlier kiss and placed one of her own on his knuckles and said, "Like I said; nothing to be ashamed about – Just remember that it _doesn't_ include the drugs, mister."

Logan chuckled and squeezed Veronica's hand tightly before he let go and said, "Well, I'll try to remember that."

They shared a long, almost cleansing, look between them and without really acknowledging it, Logan leaned in closer to Veronica, who didn't seem to mind one bit. Just as they were about to meet in a soft and forgiving kiss, the door to Veronica's hospital room burst open and Lily stormed in with a wild look in her eyes.

Logan leapt away from Veronica and nearly fell down, but luckily his lack of drug use had already given him back a fraction of his earlier grace and he managed to remain standing with his dignity intact.

Lily didn't even comment on his"caught-in-the-cookie-jar-movement" and Logan glanced quickly over at Veronica, who shrugged and asked the question on both their minds, "What's going on Lily?"

Lily embraced herself and then surprised her two friends to the core when her eyes suddenly filled with water and she answered in a broken tone of voice, "There's been a murder…Madison Sinclair was found dead a little while ago-"

Lily's breath hitched and she continued as the tears spilled down her pale face, "she was found next to _our_ pool back home and I was just going home to change clothes when I saw her and…"

Veronica sat up and Logan saw she flinched in pain when the sudden movement jostled her bruises from the rough CPR, but then she shook it off her and asked seriously, "and _what_ Lily?"

Logan felt his jaw drop and was shocked that it didn't touch the linoleum floor when he heard Lily's next words, "and Sheriff Mars and Deputy Lamb was there and they said that the evidence points to Duncan…That my brother murdered her! They took him away right in front of me."

Lily couldn't go on and Logan quickly walked over to her and took her in his arms before she fell to the floor with a wail of pain – despite all of their disagreements, it was clear that Lily still loved her baby brother.

As he mutely tried to comfort his ex-girlfriend, Logan looked over her head and locked eyes with Veronica and he felt himself freeze.

The tiny, very skinny and injured girl in the hospital bed looked nothing like the frail Veronica he'd gotten used to over the last year. No, the look in her eyes spelled trouble. Veronica Mars had regained her backbone and was obviously going to use it to track down the one who'd set up her ex-boyfriend.

 _This is gonna get interesting_ , Logan thought and nodded once to Veronica to let her know that – as always – he'd be by her side to help them all through this mess. _Even my former best friend_ , Logan added silently and sighed tiredly. _The fun never stops in Neptune._

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos, they really motivate my lazy behind when all I want is curl up in bed and die with the nastiest cold this side of Europe- Until Next Time my lovelies.


	14. Veronica

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: VERONICA  
**

As the warm Californian sun burned down on her, Veronica sighed and looked down at the plate of food with tired, but still determined eyes _. I can do this again today;_ she told herself and quickly filled her mouth with food and began chewing with gusto – ignoring the urge to spit it all out.

"Whoa there, Tiny, just because you're a recovering teenage statistic, doesn't excuse you from table manners, you know." A teasing voice called out and she smiled and continued eating as the voice's owner walked around her and sat down in front of her in the quad of Neptune High.

"Hiya Logan," Veronica greeted and took another bite. Logan returned the smile with his signature smirk and stole her water bottle and began drinking.

Veronica eyed him carefully and liked what she saw. It had now been almost two months since her hospitalization and as she'd slowly gotten healthier, so had Logan. Veronica knew she herself was in no way close to her ideal weight, but she was slowly adding to a normal figure,

"So how did Spanish go today? Did Dick finally find the perfect moment for his sombrero joke?" Veronica asked and watched in secret delight as Logan's eyes lit up at the mention of his crazy friend. _He really is beautiful,_ she thought and fought off a blush as she reclaimed the water bottle and took a sip. The duo spent another few minutes talking about said friend's latest antics until they were interrupted by a sad sight.

Logan was in the middle of retelling one of Dick's crudest sexual innuendos to the teacher when Veronica's eyes drifted towards the popular table and turned dark.

Duncan had been wheeled over to the table and his old 09'er friends by Luke Embom. The other 09'ers were busy acting as though he wasn't there and Veronica watched the blush that crept up from Duncan's collar all the way up till his ears as he tried to act nonchalant about their behavior.

 _I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't a little part of me that's loving this_ , Veronica admitted to herself, but then she added, _but it's not as fun to watch when you've lived through it._

In the two months since Lily had stormed into Veronica's hospital room and announced that Duncan was suspected of killing Madison Sinclair in cold blood, Duncan's peers had all abandoned him like rats on a sinking ship. Despite the fact that Jake Kane's money had swiftly made sure of his heir's release from jail, the damage was done. Without any other real evidence other than the ones Veronica's father had tried to bring forth, Duncan was still the only real suspect.

Duncan suddenly looked away from his former friends and locked eyes with Veronica, who just returned the stare. The hate in Duncan's eyes had dimmed a bit, but in all honesty, Veronica didn't know whether or not that was because of his current distraction.

"Ronnie?"

Veronica flinched and broke off her staring contest with Duncan and looked back at Logan. "Yeah?"

Logan smiled softly at her and answered. "I was just gonna ask if you finally got through to your mother?"

Veronica's mood turned sour when she remembered her ongoing struggles with Lianne to see her father again and she lost all will to fight with her lunch and pushed it away.

Only to have a set of well manicured hands reach over her shoulder and drag it bag. "Na ah, baby girl." Lily's mock cheery voice said, "One full lunch or I get to take you shopping the entire day tomorrow, remember that deal?"

Veronica nodded and quickly took a bite of tomato to appease her friend as Lily herself placed herself next to her and said, "So, I see the Neptune teenage mob squad has shown off some of their power again."

Logan nodded darkly, when Veronica only mutely followed Lily's look over at the 09'er table where Duncan was still being ignored by all but Luke – and surprisingly Caitlin Ford. _She's probably just itching to get another rich guy in her belt,_ Veronica thought and briefly glanced over at Logan. _Thank God he hasn't shown any interest in anyone. That would have killed me for sure._

"Oh, he did not just do that – idiot!" Lily's angry voice pulled Veronica out of her thoughts and she quickly looked over at the 09'er table again, where Duncan was now in a shouting match with one of the 09'ers she didn't know that well.

When the other boy suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Duncan's shirt, Veronica was on her feet before her mind knew what she was doing.

"Hey!" she called out and distracted the fighters. "I'm going around asking people about their mental health and I wanted to check in with you; have you always been an idiot? And if so, are you getting help?"

The other boy's face turned purple in rage simultaneously with Duncan turning white. "Don't mess with me little girl!"

Veronica smiled evilly and without anyone really being able to follow her movement, she suddenly shoved a tazer up to the much taller guys face and said, "I might be little, but I sting big, when I'm provoked, you know."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Veronica spotted Logan making his way over to her and she rolled her eyes and said, "I'm handling this, Echolls."

"I know," Logan replied and stepped in beside her and crossed his arms to show off the muscles he'd been adding on ever since entering rehab. "I just wanted to catch the show. Hello Dennis."

Dennis, the stupid 09'er, had his eyes trained on Veronica's tazer, which was dangerously close to his jugular at that moment, but he visibly flinched when he heard Logan's voice.

Logan's reputation had changed a bit over the two months. He'd stopped spending time with the 09'ers – Dick excluded of course – and now hung exclusively around Veronica and Lily whenever they were at school. There'd been one incident with an obnoxious 09'er, who'd thought he could score some points by insulting Veronica and he'd gotten a broken nose for his troubles and now the whole school finally understood, that one simply didn't mess with Logan's girls.

"I'm sorry, okay – chill out," Dennis muttered and fled – not caring about the blow to his manly reputation.

"That was fun," Veronica said and packed away her beloved weapon and looked up at Logan with a smile, "but I do know how to handle this you know – I'm not a damsel in distress anymore."

Logan put his arm around her and Veronica reveled in the feel of his warm arm around her for a second, but then she heard Duncan's voice and stepped out of Logan's space.

"I didn't need your help," the Kane boy sneered and his eyes darted around – unable to look at his former friend and girlfriend.

Veronica sighed and shook her head at him and walked away without another word. She thought back to the time after Duncan had been bailed out of jail and how he'd gone on television stating over and over again, that despite the evidence, he hadn't killed his class mate.

No one really believed him, except Veronica, Lily and Logan. Oh – and Keith Mars of course – to everyone's surprise.

Veronica walked into her final class of the day with a soft smile on her lips at the thought of her father. Although he'd initially arrested Duncan, he'd soon stated that he didn't believe that the young man was the killer and had tried everything in his power to prove it. Of course the Sinclair family had objected vehemently and due to their financial status and higher up connections with some big shot senator, they'd given Neptune's sheriff an ultimatum. Prosecute the obviously guilty Duncan Kane or lose the title as sheriff. Later that week, Sheriff Keith Mars had become Private Investigator Keith Mars.

 _And the best part of all of this_ , Veronica mused as she absentmindedly scribbled down the notes for the class _, is that Jake is caught in a tight spot. Dad is actually on his side, so he can't be his usual idiot towards him._

The memory of seeing Jake Kane storming out of Lianne's bedroom just the night before yelling about how stubborn her ex-husband was, not to accept his help in the form of his security guy Clarence Wiedman, had been a great moment in the still somewhat frail Veronica's life.

"Hey Veronica," Veronica looked up and saw Mac sitting in front of her. Another quick glance around the room told her that all the other classmates were sitting in two's as well, "we're supposed to pair up to discuss the subject from today." Mac informed her with a small quirk of the lips.

"I haven't really listened…" Veronica admitted with a sheepish smile and Mac shrugged, "me neither."

The pair just ended up copying some earlier things and began talking intimately and unheard amongst themselves in the buzz of the other people's talking.

"So, I heard that Duncan Kane suffered another dose of humiliation today," Mac suddenly said after they'd talked a bit about carefree stuff.

Veronica instantly tensed and avoided the other girls knowing blue grey eyes, "Yeah, I guess so."

Mac smiled and twirled her lilac colored bang in her hand and said, "Well, if you ask me - I have to say that it's kinda poetic justice in my book. I mean, don't get me wrong, shunning a guy that's apparently innocent is wrong, but I still remember how he treated you and Logan and Lily – even though one's his sister, another his best friend and the third a lifesaving girlfriend."

"Mac," Veronica sighed and finally allowed her eyes to meet Mac's concerned ones. "Please don't take this the wrong way – seeing as you're actually helping Lily and me – but butt out of this."

Mac nodded, but quietly muttered as the teacher passed, "I'll stay out of this, 'cause it wasn't my fight to begin with, but…I like this new you, that's been popping up over these last few weeks and I really don't want to see you vanish again."

Veronica smiled. _I always liked that girl_ , she thought. The rest of the class passed by with friendly, non serious chat, and when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Veronica quickly grabbed her things and excused herself from Mac and went out in search for Lily and Logan.

To her surprise neither of her friends was present at the parking lot by Logan's huge yellow monstrosity and Veronica looked around in search of them. _I wonder if there's trouble?_

Veronica stood by the car for ten minutes; all the while her nerves grew along with her ever present paranoia. Fortunately her cell phone rang before her anxiety gave her a heart attack.

"Hello?"

Wallace's voice distracted Veronica like nothing else could have done in that moment – _well, except a little one on one time with Logan of course_ – and she quickly asked, "Is everything going okay?"

Wallace's answering chuckle was answer enough and Veronica sighed with relief. "Girl, you know I've got your back on this – heck, with all them bail jumpers your old man is running after, it's only 'cause of your help I'm getting through all the cases here."

Veronica smiled and remembered how she'd helped Wallace solve most of his high school clientele's cases from behind the scene. "That's because I'm awesome, Fennel, deal with it. So…I take it he's out of town now?" she asked and scratched her itching nose.

Wallace sighed loudly and answered, "Yep, and before you ask I've already tried the safe today, but it's still not the right code, so I've got squat on that front. But," Wallace's voice turned just a tiny bit smug as he continued, "I did witness a funny meeting today between Mr. Mars and your momma's boy toy."

Veronica raised her eyebrows. "Do tell, friend – if you do it quick, I'll make a new batch of snickerdoodles and make sure Logan is nowhere near me when I make them this time around."

Wallace immediately launched into a detailed description of Jake Kane's futile attempt to get Keith Mars to do as he wanted, which apparently was allowing his head of security Clarence Wiedman to be in charge of Madison Sinclair's murder investigation.

Veronica laughed loudly when Wallace created vivid images in her mind as he described Keith's no nonsense response and sarcastic remarks. The longing to be with him again had only gotten stronger over the last two months. But as her wanting to be with her dad got bigger, the stronger Lianne had tried to pull her away.

Veronica swallowed a lump of sadness, when she remembered the look on her dad's face the day he'd showed up at the hospital to see if she was all right. He'd stopped in the doorway to her room and swallowed her with his eyes, before he'd turned around and walked over to his ex-wife, who'd been standing in the hallway – halfway through a call to her lover for help.

"You're such a pitiful person," Keith had said through clenched teeth – the struggle to remain civil had been obvious. "No matter how much you hate _me_ , Veronica is still _my_ daughter and I deserve to know when she's hurt, goddammit!"

The look of fury in his eyes had drawn Veronica out of bed and she'd stumbled out into the hallway and had interrupted her parent's arguing. Keith had immediately taken her in his arms and placed her back in bed. They'd sat there holding one another in silence – until Lianne returned minutes later with security, claiming he was hurting her daughter. Veronica could almost still feel the tightening of his arms around her as the people tried to drag him away from her. Just before they'd succeeded he'd sworn, "This won't continue honey, I'll make everything better again!"

After Keith's abrupt departure, Veronica had turned to her mother and said with ice cold eyes. "I _hate_ you." That had been the last time she'd spoken to her mother.

" _Veronica_!"

Veronica flinched and was brought back to the present by Wallace's loud cry. "What?"

The boy's voice sounded a little shaken. "Sorry, you just disappeared on me. Look, there's a new case I've picked up in school today – could use your expertise as always."

Veronica quickly agreed to meet up with her newest friend at the beach later and hung up – eager for some peace and quiet to fight off her sudden somber mood.

 _Dad's doing his part to keep Jake miserable, that's a good thing_ , Veronica tried to cheer up herself as she leaned back on the X-terra. _Lianne's getting more and more frustrated with me and that's_ always _a good thing. It seems like things are finally looking up for all of us._

Veronica smiled at the last thought. Apparently, Logan had knocked his father unconscious and that had somehow prompted Lynne to proceed with the divorce she'd been pining after for years. They'd both filed complaints over Aaron to the police and even the inept new Sheriff, who was Don Lamb, couldn't deny the evidence that Lynne brought with her and Aaron was no longer allowed within two hundred feet of either of them.

 _And I'm slowly beating this not eating thing;_ Veronica thought and took out a banana from her backpack to prove her point _. I've got Wallace working for dad, so I have an easy way to communicate with him without Lianne and Jake finding out. I'm closer than ever to Logan. And I'm just waiting for Lily's plan to come through so I can get some leverage on Jakey boy._

Veronica smiled smugly and took a bite of her banana as her mind dove back to the day in the hospital where she'd first woken up next to a sleeping Logan and a silently crying Lily.

The pain had been the first thing to tell her that no, she hadn't died and she'd moaned softly as she struggled to beat it back down a bit to a tolerable level.

"Hi Veronica." Lily's voice made her realize for the first time, that she wasn't alone and her eyes snapped open and focused on Lily.

"Hey…Have you been crying?"

Lily snorted quietly and wiped her eyes as she muttered something about allergies to cheap bed linen. Then they'd laid there next to each other, while Veronica became fully aware again and noticed that Lily wasn't her only guest.

"He's been worried sick about you," Lily muttered when Veronica's hand slowly reached out and began to stroke his tussled hair.

"He's in love with you, you know…"

Veronica sighed and forced her eyes away from the sleeping boy at her side and said seriously, "No, he's not. We're just close friends and that's all. I don't have enough friends to try and alter my relationships with them."

Lily's eyes darkened and she gently grabbed onto one of Veronica's cool hands and said intently, "Trust me on this; Logan loves you – more than he ever loved me that's for sure. But," Lily added when Veronica tried to look away, "that's not really important right now. I wanted to say how sorry I am for all of this."

Veronica frowned and looked back at Lily, who'd begun crying silently again. "What for? Me being clumsy isn't your fault."

Lily chuckled and wiped her eyes. "That may be so, but I am so very sorry for everything – please believe me that I never intended for things to get so screwed up when I started avoiding you."

Veronica nodded, "I get it. I'm a heavy load to carry, when you've got issues of your own. I'm sorry I wasn't a good enough friend to accept that you're entitled to your own opinion regarding my mo…Lianne and your dad."

Lily sighed heavily and gently squeezed Veronica's hand again. "Look, I only said those things, because I was forced to. I swear to you, that you're not alone in the whole finding our parents lack of morals disgusting, okay."

Veronica nodded, but couldn't help asking, "Then why? Please tell me…I can't stand that there's all this unknown territory between all of us." She gently pointed at the still sleeping Logan.

Lily sighed and looked deeply troubled for a second, but then she looked up and revealed her father's true nature. "…and then he said, I had to make you re-love your mother or else…"

Veronica was pale, and judging from the monitor by her bedside, her heart rate was elevated as she struggled with her anger. "Don't take this the wrong way Lils," Veronica finally stated, "but if Jake Kane is my biological father, I will kill him."

Lily smiled and Veronica could see the relief in her eyes as the older blonde said, "I'm happy you're taking this so well. I was afraid you'd be going all soap opera on me."

Veronica smiled, "I'd love for you to be my sister, but…Keith Mars is my father, I have no doubt. After all," she added, trying desperately to lighten the mood again, "I did inherit his stomach, and if that's not proof enough, I don't know what is."

Lily smiled, but seemed as though she couldn't get her mouth to work properly anymore, so Veronica continued genuinely. "I'm sure dad already realized this and that you've been fooled by your dad for nothing. I mean, Keith Mars is anything but stupid, so I bet he already tested this the first time he heard the rumors. Now," Veronica said, "I think that Jake Kane and mommy dearest have wreaked enough chaos in my life and I won't take it anymore. I'll move in with my dad as soon as I can take Jake down."

To Veronica's surprise, Lily smiled wickedly at this and revealed, "I actually already got something in the works for this."

In the next ten minutes, Lily revealed her plan to try and force out Jake Kane from Veronica's life and Veronica had fallen asleep with the first real happy smile on her face in months.

The happy memory faded and Veronica yawned and stretched to get all the kinks out of her body. Then she noticed how few cars there were left in the parking lot and frowned. "Okay, I'm done waiting," she muttered and jumped off the hood of the X-terra and went in search of her elusive friends.

"Hey Mars."

Veronica jumped in surprise when Dick's voice came out of nowhere and she spun around to face him. "Hiya Dick. What's up?"

Dick smiled widely and eyed her body appreciatively. Veronica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Any day now Casablancas!" Veronica barked out when the male blonde still hadn't said anything a moment later.

"Oh, right," he said, "I ran into this Ghostworld girl a while ago and she told me to tell you that Lily told her, that her phone was dead and that's why she hasn't contacted you and," Dick continued with a fake serious look on his face, "then I'm supposed to tell you that she's following a lead and that the Plan is one step closer to succeeding, whatever that means."

Veronica smiled in relief and silently berated herself. _After all you've been through, you still think Lily will abandon you – work on it Mars!_ "Thanks Dick, and goodbye Dick," Veronica said in a mock hiss when Dick simply continued ogling her.

Dick grinned, saluted and walked over to his own car, where Veronica spotted Cassidy sitting on the hood with an almost lost look on his face. She watched in silence as Dick reached the vehicle and said something undoubtedly rude to his little brother and fired up the engine with a roar of delight.

Veronica rolled her eyes again and turned away. _Someday Cassidy's gonna smother you in your sleep Dickster_ , she thought out to the wannabe playboy.

For the next few minutes, Veronica wandered the empty halls of the school in search of the young man she loved. She was in the midst of a very teenage girl moment of fantasizing about the day she'd finally work up the nerve to reveal her true feelings when her peaceful mood came crashing down.

There, not ten feet in front of her was Logan. She couldn't blame him for not noticing her yet. _After all, it can't be easy hearing when you've got some bimbo nibbling in your ear_ , Veronica thought angrily.

What hurt the most was the fact that Logan seemed very into it all; he was placing wet kisses down the other girl's neck. In the next moment Veronica gasped out loud as she finally recognized the other female as Shelly Pomeroy. _He hates her!_ She thought in a mix between jealousy and anger.

Veronica's gasp reached Logan and his head snapped up and he froze as his eyes locked on hers.

Before Veronica realized it, she'd turned and run off in the opposite direction. _Why hasn't he said that he's into her?_ Veronica thought sadly, but then her thoughts were distracted when she heard Logan's following footsteps.

A moment later, she felt him catch up to her and Logan grabbed her around the waist. "Stop running and calm down!" He yelled when Veronica in a fit of fury kicked out her legs, trying to free herself from his strong grip.

"Let me go, you moron and go back whoring with that _whore!"_

Finally Logan seemed to lose whatever patience he had and roughly pushed her into the nearest wall and trapped her flaying arms with one of his and he said, "Will you stop acting like a freaking weirdo and _listen_ to me?"

"No! I was just waiting for you to take me home and then I walk in on you doing…What are you thinking? She's a tramp!"

Logan rolled his eyes at her and thereby fueled Veronica's anger and she kicked out with her leg, but he expertly avoided it and trapped her more firmly by leaning his tall, muscular frame over hers. "Stop that!" He demanded and continued when all Veronica did in return was glare threateningly at him. "Shelly is just a way for me to release some tension – I've done nothing that I should be sorry about, Ronnie. You're not the boss of me. I can screw whoever I want!"

Veronica blinked and looked away _. It's true,_ she thought, because _I'm too cowardly to admit to you how I feel…Great, that probably means I'm gonna watch him turn into Slutty McSlut again_. "No, I'm not," Veronica slowly said. "You can let go of me now."

Logan sighed and did so, carefully eying her clenched fists. "I'll just go apologize to Shelly and then I'll drive you home."

Veronica nodded and walked mutely out to the parking lot to wait for him.

A few minutes later, Logan appeared from the building and they got into the car in mutual silence. Veronica bit her lip as she tried to come up with a way for them to go back to normal. _He must hate me now; I went all possessive on him and he doesn't even realize it's because I love him…_

"Veronica – I didn't…" Logan suddenly broke the tense silence, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk before."

Veronica looked at him with a frown and said, "You've got nothing to be sorry about, I was the one out of line. You can – as you so eloquently put it – screw whoever you want. It's none of my business. We're just friends."

Logan took a deep breath and quickly pulled the car over and turned to her with a weird look in his eyes. Veronica was afraid he was about to kick her out of the car or something and hurried on with her rambled reassurances. "I know you care a lot about what I do Logan and I get that – given our oh-so-fortunate historiy – there's some trust and loyalty issues that normal friendships just doesn't have, but I should respect the boundaries despite of that closeness. I was just surprised that's all – it's not a big deal, I'm sorry."

 _Please forgive me, 'cause I love you, you fool,_ Veronica's braver part thought out longingly.

To her surprise Logan chuckled and she crossed her arms in confusion and a fair bit of annoyance. "What's so funny?"

"That thing about me caring about you," Logan answered as he wiped his eyes after he eventually stopped laughing. Seeing Veronica's expression however, instantly turned him serious and he straightened up and continued with an intent look in his dark eyes, "I don't care about you Veronica – caring is for friends and what I feel for you is nothing friendly."

The words caused Veronica psychical pain and she gasped. _I'm going to kill him for hurting me like this – I don't care how much I love him_ , she vowed, but then froze in shock when he continued speaking without pause.

"What I feel for you is _love_ , Veronica Mars. Passionate, unchangeable, epic and eternal love." Logan's eyes burned into hers and Veronica swallowed a lump as he continued quietly, "I wake up in the morning just hoping that there's a tiny chance you might feel the same way. I want nothing more than to be with you, but I know I'm a pathetic mess, who's slept with a lot of your classmates, including your best friend, so I settle for fooling around with girls, who don't mind me yelling your name, when I find my release – so…yeah, _that's_ what so funny about what you said."

Veronica blinked in pure shock. She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Logan Echolls apparently loved her as much as she loved him. She met his eyes again and almost giggled. They reminded her of a lost puppy's. Wide and bright with unspoken hope and longing.

"Logan," Veronica slowly said, "I didn't like seeing you with Shelly." Logan's eyes dimmed and he looked away, obviously thinking that she'd ignore his declaration of love in favor of some more scolding of his sexual encounters. Then he almost gave himself whiplash when Veronica continued gently. "I only want to see you with me from now on, okay?"

"W-what?" Logan stuttered after a long moment of silence.

Veronica smiled and took a deep breath for courage and said without hesitating, "I love you too Logan Echolls."

Then she leaned forward and carefully placed her lips on his. To Veronica's rapid growing embarrassment, Logan didn't respond and she began pulling away to apologize once more. But then she felt Logan move and a second later, both his large hands were cupping her cheeks and he whispered, "This better not be a dream, Mars," before he finally took charge of their first kiss and showed her just why girls in their school more or less prayed to become his girl of the week.

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

* * *


	15. Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Busy, busy, busy these days but soooo grateful for your reads, kudos and comments!

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: LILY  
**

A loud crash woke Lily from a sound sleep and she jolted out of the bed and was halfway down the hallway before she realized what she was doing.

The sight she saw as she entered the kitchen made Lily freeze in the doorway in surprise. In front of her, Celeste was in the midst of growling something out to her husband, while the ever busy Consuela was in the middle of sweeping up what seemed to once have been a coffee mug.

Lily met the maid's twinkling eyes and smiled before she directed her attention to her parents.

To her disappointment, Lily's appearance seemed to have brought them to their senses and they stood immobile and looked at her.

"Mornin'," Lily muttered and when neither of her parents responded, she rolled her eyes and turned her attention on Consuela. "I'm gonna take a shower and then would you mind taking my breakfast up to my room?"

Consuela smiled and agreed with a nod and Lily turned and walked back to her room.

A few moments later, Lily stepped under the warm rays of water and her thoughts drifted back to her arguing parents. _No doubt Jake was sneaking in after another busy night at the Mars household and Celeste went ballistic._

Lily shampooed her hair and sighed. Her mind drifted to her brother, as it often did nowadays. She still remembered her desperation the night Madison Sinclair's body had been found.

The image of a guilty looking Sheriff Mars - wheeling his daughter's ex-boyfriend away - popped into her mind. Before that could manifest into yet another hour long mental excursion, Lily quickly stepped out of the shower and ran into her room and turned the music up full blast.

Lily screamed out the lyrics of the song as she jumped around and put her clothes on. She'd just finished brushing her wet hair and was about to turn on the hairdryer, when the door burst open.

"HEY!"

Lily raised a mocking eyebrow at her younger brother and moving extremely slowly, reached out and turned off the still blaring music.

"Ever heard of knocking?" she asked and calmly slid her fingers through her hair.

Duncan scowled and pushed himself fully inside her room and Lily continued mocking him – if anything their relationship had gotten worse after his murder accusation. "Well, come on in, brother dear. This will all be yours eventually after all. Me being the unenlightened female child."

Duncan's scowl didn't vanish, but it dimmed a fraction. "Why is nothing ever serious with you?"

Lily dropped the façade and turned fully around to face her angry brother. "I'm always serious – I just don't show it to people, who I can't trust."

Duncan's face darkened and Lily was surprised to see not a small amount of hurt in his eyes, before his expression turned carefully blank.

"I need a favor."

Lily raised a brow and then gingerly sat down on her unmade bed. "Will it involve a pretty please, because if so, I'm gonna need a moment to prepare myself for the shock."

Duncan rolled his eyes in frustration, but when Lily didn't move a muscle after her statement, he continued, "I need a favor, _please_."

Lily smiled widely. "Now was that so hard?"

Duncan's eyes rolled again but then he began speaking. "I'm surrounded by people who mock me and treat me like crap. I need a few pointers to keep them calm around me."

Lily's smile disappeared. "You could always stop hanging around them – ever thought about that?"

The look Duncan sent her way clearly informed Lily she was delusional. "I need my friends to realize that I'm the same guy as before Mad…Before any of it happened."

"Well," Lily began and made sure her eyes were locked with her brother's, "you did have tree other friends, who would have stood by you no matter what, if you hadn't been such a moron after the accident."

Duncan's jaw clenched, but he didn't answer and Lily continued with a tired sigh, "Look, I know that the only one, who's really hanging around you these days is Luke – be happy with that. People's behavior should eventually get back to normal and you can go back to avoiding me and the rest of your former friends."

Lily suddenly couldn't stand to look at him anymore and got up from the bed and walked over to her desk, where she grabbed her –for once – finished homework and placed it in her bag.

"I didn't do it, you know…" Duncan's voice was quiet and almost a whisper.

Lily took a deep breath, but didn't voice her internal thoughts. _I know you didn't, Donut – I know_. A few moments later she heard him wheel out of her room again without anything but a loud sigh.

The moment he closed the door behind him, Lily turned on her stereo and sat back down on her bed and groaned unheard in the midst of the blaring music.

 _I'm so tired of his drama_ , she thought and threw herself backwards and grabbed a pillow _. I tried reaching out to him when Jake bailed him out, but he looked at me like I was somehow responsible for the whole mess in the first place. And our beloved parents have acted like nothing was wrong; Celeste is getting more and more frustrated by the minute over all the scandals._

Lily snorted in amusement. _At least I can get some enjoyment in the fact that someone in this house hates Jake's lack of monogamy more than I do. Speaking of Jake_ , Lily frowned, _Mac's been working on our project for so long now, I'm beginning to doubt she'll ever find any proof that I can use to my advantage._

The song ended, but Lily didn't restart the music; she just laid there on her bed deep in thought about her attempt to get back at her manipulative father.

A quiet knock on the door interrupted Lily's musings and as she sat up, Consuela entered with a tray of breakfast.

"Here you go." The tray was placed on the desk and Consuela gestured Lily towards it with a smile, but then she narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong with you? It's been a while since I've seen you so gloomy in the morning."

Lily's lip twitched and she sat down and took a bit of her chocolate waffle, before she answered, "It's just this house and its inhabitants that are slowly eating away my sanity – you know…The usual."

Consuela smiled and gently caressed Lily's injured cheek. "Then I think you should get out of here and go to school and meet up with your friends. Veronica and that fine looking boy are usually the only ones to keep your spirits up these days. And," the maid's eyes turned serious as she leaned forward and whispered, "I heard Mr. Kane talk on the phone a few minutes ago, he's staying home tonight to appease the misses for once. So I'd say you should consider spending the night out of the house - unless you want to listen in on the inevitable screaming that's going to happen sometime tonight."

Lily nodded in appreciation and agreed to do just that. _I can always crash at Logan's_." she thought and quickly finished her meal and kissed Consuela goodbye on the cheek before she ran out the door and outside to her car, so she could pick up Veronica.

When Lily arrived at the Mars' house, Veronica was waiting by the pavement with a resigned look on her face.

As she pulled up next to her younger friend, Lily spotted Lianne's form in the doorway looking at them with a tearful expression. When Veronica entered the vehicle and smiled in greeting, looking more or less happy, Lily couldn't resist asking. "What's up with mother dearest over there?"

Veronica followed Lily's nod towards the door and snorted. The look she sent Lianne's way almost made Lily feel sorry for the alcoholic. _Almost._

"Ah, you know the usual." Veronica replied and buckled her seatbelt without another look at her mother. "I was up before her and was chatting with Logan on the phone and she came in – begged me to talk to her again. I asked whether or not she'd let me live with my dad and she declined and I glared at her and didn't say another word. It was fun times."

Lily smiled at the obvious sarcasm. "Oh I bet it was. My morning was fun too. Duncan tried asking for help on how to deal with the whole being an outcast thing."

Veronica shook her head and leaned her head back with a loud sigh.

Lily glanced at her in hidden concern. Despite the fact that Veronica was slowly beginning to look like a normal person in regards to weight, there was still a certain frailty about her that made Lily want to protect her at all costs _. Better change the subject_ , she decided and then chuckled loud enough for Veronica's curiosity to be ignited.

"So," Lily began seeing her friend's questioning look, "You were "chatting" with Logan. That seems to be happening more and more these days, doesn't it?"

Veronica snorted and lightly punched Lily in the shoulder. "Give it a rest with the whole matchmaker thing; Logan and I are just friends."

Lily eyed the other blonde speculatively. _She looks almost disappointed by that. I really gotta get them together soon. Then I might be able to focus a bit on my own love life._

An internal picture of Weevil suddenly flared up and Lily fought back a blush. The Latino hadn't spoken more than two words to her since his declaration of love two months earlier, but the lingering looks he'd sent her way every so often told its clear language. He still wanted her. _And I still can't believe_ it, Lily thought with a sigh of her own.

"Hey," Veronica's soft voice brought her out of her thoughts, "are you okay?"

Lily quickly nodded and turned into the parking lot at Neptune High. She parked and stopped the car and went to grab her bag from the backseat, when Veronica's hand on her arm stopped her mid-movement.

"For someone who's so worried about my dull love life, yours could be so much better."

Lily lost the battle with the blush this time and shrugged. "Yeah, right – like there's anyone out there that'd want _me_ as a trophy wife."

Veronica smiled and squeezed her arm gently. "I know there are at least three guys, who'd not have a problem with your scars. And before you object, let me summarize," she added with a mock stern look. "There's of course Logan. The ex-boyfriend whom you ended things with right after the accident, which by the way I still don't know why you did."

Lily sighed, but knew that that was a secret she couldn't reveal out of loyalty to her now best male friend and former lover. She'd been recovering from one of her numerous surgeries and was wheeling around the hospital one night when she'd stopped by Veronica's room and watched unnoticed how Logan sat by her side in his own wheelchair with a look on his face, that she still swore she hadn't seen him give to her during their entire relationship. Lily had broken things off with Logan the next day – stating that they needed to be friends more than anything to get healthy.

"Lily, are you still in there, 'cause I was trying to make a point?"

Once again, Veronica's voice snapped Lily out of her head and she nodded, "Do continue, I was listening ever so intently."

Veronica smirked mildly and did as asked. "Well, aside from Logan, there's of course Wallace."

Lily's shocked gasp turned Veronica's smirk into a genuine smile. "What? Don't tell me you didn't know. He's got a thing for you – it's nothing major, but if you took the time to nurture it, I'm pretty sure he could eventually fall in love with you."

Lily's blush intensified at the thought of their newest friend. _Wallace is a good looking guy_ , Lily conceded. _But I'm just not into him like that – If only I was, then my life would be a hell of a lot less complicated. And imagine Celeste's face if I brought home a talented, handsome black guy._

"But," Veronica's voice turned more serious, "we both know that you'll never really consider Wallace's affections."

Lily raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms mutely, allowing Veronica to come up with her last argument. "Because there's only one guy that works for you; who'd take you – internal flaws and all – and love you regardless. And he's standing right over there with his friends, just waiting to catch a glimpse of you like he somehow always seems to do every morning."

Lily's head immediately snapped in the direction Veronica was pointing and her eyes landed on Weevil's back. She got the distinct impression that had she looked only a second earlier their eyes would have met.

Real longing to just exit the car and run over and jump into her ex-lover's strong arms coursed through every particle of Lily's body and she shook with the effort to fight it off.

"Maybe you're right," she reluctantly muttered after a few minutes of silence.

Veronica's answering nod was followed up by a lopsided grin. _Apparently she likes to be the observer for once;_ Lily thought and returned the grin with a bit of effort.

"Let's get this day over with, shall we?" she asked and got out of the car.

The two friends' slowly began making their way to the yellow building. "I've gotta go turn in a few pictures to the paper," Veronica said when they walked inside.

Lily nodded and they hugged briefly before Veronica quickly disappeared down the opposite hallway.

Lily watched her walk away with a satisfied look in her eyes. _It really is nice to see Veronica getting better again,_ she thought and walked over to her locker and began finding the books needed for her first class.

"Hey Lily," Wallace's voice startled her enough for her to drop her book on the floor with a soft bump.

"Oh hey, Fennel," Lily's greeting was a bit over the top and she herself could hear the high pitch in her voice. Now that she'd been made aware of the fact that Wallace could easily fall in love with her, her nerves were at an all time high and she felt like a freshman again.

Wallace, being the gentleman that he was, ignored her obvious nerves and bent down and picked up her book and handed it back to her with a smile. "So, I saw that we've got a free period at the same time today – wanna hang out? You could help me finish my latest cases. Mr. Mars took care of my personal case with a weird ass tenant and Veronica already helped me with it the school related one, but she won't tell me who the real culprit behind that crime is. And I've already talked with the people involved and can't figure it out. This whole thing was a mess from the get go."

"What mess?" Lily asked – feeling more out of the loop than ever. She'd been too caught up in her and her two friend's lives to care much about the school's gossip.

"Well," Wallace began with a sheepish smile, "remember the whole purity test last week and how the cheerleaders were turning out to be a true image of cliché with their behind the scenes scheming?"

Lily nodded. Yeah, she and Veronica had laughed a great deal about Pam and Kimmy's attempt to ruin the purest of pure to gain popularity. Meg had, of course, come through the whole ordeal clean. Lily smiled and realized that silly unimportant issues like that proved that not all was a tumble of heavy angst.

"What about it?" she asked.

Wallace answered just as the bell rang. "Well, we did find the guilty ones – the ones, who were using the tests for their own gain, but I realized that we never found out who made the damn tests in the first place. And I think Veronica knows, but she won't tell me."

Lily laughed out loud and rolled her eyes. "After all this time, do you really think you're gonna get me to help you get through to my very stubborn best friend? Trust me; even I don't have that kind of power."

In the back of her mind, Lily had a pretty good suspicion as to who the real culprit was, but like Veronica, Lily saw no use in revealing that truth.

With a smile and her good mood fully restored, Lily went to class.

When lunch time rolled around, Lily walked over towards her usual table, but stopped a few steps away. She couldn't help but smile at the caring look Logan had in his eyes as they were on Veronica. Then she noticed the concern in his eyes as well and frowned. _What's going on now?_

She stepped closer and managed to catch the last of Logan's words, "…through to your mother." _Aha, a subject Ronnie doesn't want to get into – I'll bet I know what's gonna happen next_ , Lily thought.

And of course Veronica quickly began pushing away her tray of food and Lily stepped in before Logan even managed to utter a single syllable. "Na ah baby girl. One full lunch or I get to take you shopping the entire day tomorrow, remember that deal?"

Judging from the dejected look on Veronica's face as Lily slid in next to her at the bench; she did in fact recall that agreement and Lily was hard pressed not to smirk in victory.

Instead she glanced around and her eyes stopped at her brother over by the 09'er table. His words from earlier rung in her ears. _They mock me and treat me like crap._

"So, I see the Neptune teenage mob squad has shown off some of their power again."

Lily wanted nothing more than to walk over there and drag her brother away from his so called friends, but she knew that he'd never allow that and she bit back the urge.

Suddenly she noticed that Duncan was way too close to one of the 09'ers – Lily didn't recognize him, he wasn't one of the ones she'd deemed worthy enough to flirt with back in the day, so he had barely registered on her radar before now. But now the two males were going at it and Lily knew it was only a matter of time before Duncan dug a hole too deep for him to get out of by himself.

She hissed out something in anger seeing the argument escalade, but before she could do or say anything else – Veronica was on the move and walked right into the 09'er face.

Lily quickly turned to Logan. "Have I woken up in the Twilight Zone today?"

Logan shook his head slowly, his eyes following every one of Veronica's movements. "I'm gonna go see if she needs a hand," he excused himself and all but ran over to the tiny blonde's side.

Lily watched the two with a smile. She briefly considered going over to them and lending a hand, but the thought of Duncan's displeasure stopped her. She knew her friends could handle it and stood up and walked over to the table, where Wallace and his basket team normally sat for lunch.

"Hiya," she greeted and Wallace grinned up to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the other ball players eye her disfigured face with nothing short of distaste. She wasn't the only one to notice though and she didn't get a chance to feel too uncomfortable, because Wallace glared at the other guy hard enough for him to see that his feelings were very much unwanted.

"Come on Kane," Wallace took her by the hand and led her over to an unused table when the staring contest between him and his friend ended. "I've run out of Veronica's baked goods and I'm jonesing for a fix – distract me."

Lily laughed and the two of them quickly and effortlessly dived into a conversation about everything and nothing at all.

Suddenly they were interrupted by Mac, who showed up out of the blue next to their table.

"Lily, I need to talk to you."

Lily smiled and turned away from Wallace with a quick apologetic shrug. "Okay, talk all you want, I'm listening."

Mac looked uncomfortable for a second as her eyes landed briefly on Wallace's bemused face. "Talk, as in one on one," she elaborated quietly, "I sort of had a breakthrough a few minutes ago and really thought you'd like to know everything about it…"

Lily froze, but then hurried to cover up her reaction with a beaming smile back at Wallace. "I'm sorry, but apparently I'm wanted elsewhere. Rain check?"

Wallace didn't even get a chance to utter a single syllable before Lily had abandoned him and all but dragged Mac away to a more private area.

"Talk." Was all Lily uttered and Mac took a deep breath before she began her story.

"Well, it took a lot of time to figure it out – actually a lot more than I'd anticipated. But then again, Jake Kane hasn't become a billionaire by sitting idly by. He's great with computers after all, not as great as myself, but-"

Lily held up a hand and said with forced calm, "I understand that you're brilliant and I'll bow to said brilliance later, but for now- get on with it. Give me the cliff notes."

Mac nodded and stated. "Long story short; you're a bastard."

Lily's eyebrows rose and she crossed her arms. "Excuse me?"

Mac seemed to realize that her wording might not have been appropriate and quickly continued, "I mean, you're not…but then again you are."

Lily rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day and grabbed Mac's shoulders. "Tell. Me. Now."

Mac sighed and seemed to deflate in the face of Lily's sudden anger. "Okay, but please don't kill the messenger, all right?"

Lily nodded and gestured for the brunette to continue just as the bell rang again.

**0o0o0**

The world around Lily had shifted and she was shivering and sweating all at the same time. Mac had left her with a firm promise to never reveal anything until Lily said so.

The people around her, going to class after their lunch, barely registered in Lily's mind after that and she'd bumped into more than one person.

A strong and warm hand on her shoulder forced Lily to look up and she almost groaned when her eyes locked with Dick's bright blue orbs.

"Hey female Kane with the great knockers." Was his greeting, "try to watch where you're going. I don't want anything to bruise this fine package," Dick gestured to his broad chest and grinned goofily.

Lily barely noticed. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of someone and she desperately needed to get to him. Nothing else mattered at that point in time. "Go to class," she ordered and walked away without another word.

She took out her cell and texted Mac – asking her to tell Dick to tell Veronica that her cell did in fact not work and that she was following up on a lead. A few – extremely long – moments went by and Mac's agreeing reply came through.

Lily shut down the cell phone and packed it away and quickly made her way over to her intended target; Weevil. As she drew nearer, Lily found she was able to breathe again and her mind seemed to be a bit more cooperative.

_For the moment at least._

Her eyes zeroed in on Weevil and she could feel her heart fighting to leap out of her chest. This would be the first time they spoke since that day in the eraser room.

The other bikers raised their eyebrows at her approach and some even smirked and leered. Obviously they were expecting round 100 of Weevil vs. Lily.

Lily took a deep breath and gently said, "Eli, I need a favor."

"You'd do us all a favor by leaving _formerly_ hot Chica," one of the senior PCH'ers said mockingly and laughed harshly along with a few others.

To everyone's surprise – especially the laughing taunter – Weevil suddenly moved almost as fast as lightning and wrapped his hands around the other man's neck. "Don't be disrespectful," was all he said and squeezed a little tighter.

Lily watched in something akin to pure awe as the former mocker paled and stepped back from the smaller gang leader and looked down in submission. And not for the first time, Lily understood that there was a reason that a sophomore, who was less than 6 feet tall, was the leader of the PCH'ers.

 _He oozes leadership_ , Lily realized in the few seconds it took for the other gang members to make themselves invisible, _Logan has that too – they have a natural dominance thing going on._

"You needed something?"

Weevil's voice was soft and calm again and Lily suddenly wanted more than anything to wrap her arms around him and cry.

 _He must have seen it in my eyes_ , Lily pondered dazedly when, in the next second, Weevil took her hand and carefully led her over to his bike on the parking lot and began strapping on a helmet on her face.

"W-what are you doing?" Lily was perplexed enough to lessen her urge to burst into tears.

Weevil smiled softly and swung his leg over the bike. "I think we need to be alone while you get things off your chest, don't you agree?"

Lily did in fact agree and got behind Weevil without another word and he started the engine and drove them away to a more private spot.

Fifteen minutes later, they were camped out in Weevil's surprisingly clean room at his grandmother's house. Seeing as Mrs. Navarro was working full time at the Echolls' mansion, they were alone.

"Now," Weevil said after he'd placed a cold glass of ice tea in her hands and sat down on his bed. "I'm all ears."

Lily suddenly couldn't formulate words and tears began falling down her face.

Weevil's look of horror might have amused her at any other time, but now Lily didn't care. "I can't talk about it without breaking down," she revealed when she felt somewhat in control again. "My head is swimming with this new knowledge and I know that I'm bound to cause too much trouble now and I hate it. I hate that I hate it, because no one deserves trouble more than _him._ And then I saw you and irrationally all I could think about was that I wanted to be near you – You'd be the only one who could make me forget for a while and that's horrible too, 'cause then I'm using you and I don't want to use you – because I…I love you too and I'm sorry if that's too late to say. I know it's been so long since I ran out on you and- _"_

"Lils," Weevil held up a hand and stopped her from talking. "I know you love me, I'm glad you finally realized it yourself though." His face broke out into a smile. "But that's not really important right now."

"It's not?" Lily frowned in confusion and Weevil chuckled lightly and removed the half consumed glass of beverage from her cold hands and got to his feet, taking her with him.

"No, it's not baby. You needed me to help you forget for a while and I'm more than willing to do that."

Lily didn't get a chance to say another word, because in the next second, Weevil bent down and kissed her passionately. His soft lips, wet twirling tongue and warm hands on her cheeks immediately drew all thoughts from Lily's mind and she moaned in relief and growing lust.

She pulled away and began unbuttoning his shirt with trembling fingers. When she pulled the fabric aside and laid eyes on his sunburned chest, Lily barely refrained from moaning again. She leaned forward and placed a trail of kisses around his nipples before gently biting into one of them, just as she knew he loved.

Now it was Weevil's time to moan and he seemed to snap at her ministrations, because suddenly he'd lifted her from the ground and placed her on his bed – never once breaking their kiss.

When she felt his roaming hands settle on her own shirt to begin unbuttoning it, Lily froze and knew that Weevil could feel her hesitation. He broke the kiss and leaned back to look her in the eyes. The look in his dark ones were a mixture between passion and such tenderness that it almost made Lily want to cry again.

"You're beautiful," he finally whispered – with no trace of teasing anywhere on his face. "Everything about you is gorgeous," he continued as his fingers slowly returned to her buttons. When the shirt was open and she laid before him in nothing but a bra, Weevil continued as his fingers trailed the scars from her face and down to the middle of her abdomen. "I love everything about you – don't ever doubt that."

As Weevil bent down to kiss and lick his way through every scar on her body to prove his point, before removing her bra and panties, Lily slowly realized that in Weevil's eyes, she truly was beautiful and it was awe-inspiring to her that he found her as wonderful as she found him.

"I love you," she muttered and finally allowed herself to be loved, not only internally, but physically as well.

A long while later, Lily woke up cradled in Weevil's protective arms – feeling better than she'd been in ages. Somewhat sore in certain places, but considering what they'd been up to, it really wasn't a surprise to her.

"Hey," his dark voice was soft and tender and Lily smiled into his chest. _I could get used to this…_

"So," Weevil gently grabbed her chin and made her look him in the eye, "do you wanna tell me what was going on?"

Lily sighed and her initial response was to think of a lie to placate him, but she knew it wouldn't work. He was just as stubborn as she was.

"It's silly really."

Weevil shook his head and kissed the tip of her nose. "Obviously not to you – tell me. I promise I won't take it further than here."

Lily nodded her thanks and could already feel her mood turning somber again when she relived the memory of Mac's revelation. "All right. I'll tell you, and then maybe you can help me figure out how to tell Veronica."

Weevil smiled and she knew he agreed – wanting to help not only her, but his tiny female friend.

"First off," Lily began, "I guess I can say that I finally have a way to force Jake Kane out of everyone's way. But it's bound to cause some problems – you see…Jake Kane is gonna go to jail because of my discovery."

"Which is," Weevil encouraged, when Lily didn't continue right away.

The look in her eyes spoke of sadness, guilt and confusion and Weevil finally understood why, when Lily continued, "Jake Kane is not my mother's husband – you see, he married someone else first when he was a teenager – and that someone was Lianne Mars."

**0o0o0**

**TBC…**

 

* * *


	16. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rememder the countless times I've claimed this story is cliched and overly dramatic and emotional, with a dash of stuff happening unrealistically?Yeah, it's about to go into the final over the top stages fyi ;)

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: LOGAN  
**

Waking up nowadays was still a new kind of experience for Logan. For one thing the knock on the door wasn't rushed and his mother's voice was a lot more assertive than it had been during his childhood. _Hell_ , Logan thought as he yawned, _she's more assertive than she's been my whole life._

"Honey, there's food ready. Get your butt up before you're late."

Logan rolled out of bed with a smile and stretched his muscular body. The old pain from his abdomen injury barely registered in his mind and Logan chose to take that as a good omen for the day.

Fifteen minutes later after a quick shower Logan walked out into the wide open kitchen and smiled to his content looking mother and nodded amiably to Mrs. Navarro, who stood by the stove and was flipping what appeared to be chocolate chip pancakes. _A good omen indeed_ , Logan decided and sat down.

"So, what are you going to do today?" Lynne asked.

Logan almost inhaled one of the pancakes before he answered his for once interested mother. "Well, school of course – gotta get me that education all them smart kids are talking about."

Lynne rolled her eyes at his teasing and gestured for a more detailed answer.

"I'm probably gonna hang out with Dick later – maybe hit some waves…" A small hesitance crept into his tone of voice as he continued, "Or maybe I'll go 'round Veronica's place and take her out to eat."

Lynne's smile turned into a smirk and Logan suddenly knew where he'd gotten his own from and hurried to explain, "Because, you know – she's still struggling with food every now and again and could use something that Lianne hasn't had her hands in – that's all."

"MmmHmm," was Lynne's response and Logan shook his head and quickly continued eating the amazing breakfast in front of him.

When he was stuffed more than a thanksgiving turkey, Logan excused himself and walked towards the front door, so he could get to school. _And Veronica_ , he admitted silently with a small surge of butterflies in his belly that had nothing to do with pancakes.

As he neared the front door Logan glanced around the white walls and he couldn't keep his smile at bay. All of his father's movie posters and stupid awards, which had decorated the house for several years, were gone and in their place, beautiful paintings and pictures had been placed. In fact it felt like the whole house seemed happier about Aaron's departure too.

Logan grabbed his school things bt the door and exited the mansion and made his way over to his car, now deep in thought.

Every since he'd punched his father unconscious and Lynne had finally rediscovered her backbone, things in the Echolls home had lightened up considerably. _And it doesn't hurt that someone filmed the whole incident and put it out on YouTube_ , Logan sent a heartfelt thanks to the nurse, who'd done so with her cell phone and got into his car.

On his way to school Logan thought about his relationship with his biological sire since that night. Aaron hadn't taken Lynne's statements nicely. In fact he'd roared like a beast and when Logan had showed up at the police station to give a testimony to one of the deputies, Aaron had threatened to do a number of unspeakable things.

Logan hadn't cared, he was done living in fear of the man. He now knew he was able to take on his father and come out on the winning side of a fight. When Aaron had been released and shown up at their doorstep full of rage, Logan had once again proved his newfound strength and after swearing to make them all pay, Aaron had stumbled away – bleeding profusely. As far as Logan knew, Aaron was now a permanent guest at the Grande Hotel.

A memory from the night before floated into Logan's mind and he grinned from ear to ear. He'd been watching the local news and one of the segments had devoted a lot of time on Aaron Echolls and his quick – but hard – fall from grace. The grainy video from the hospital was shown and then later they showed a scene from the before mentioned hotel, where Aaron definitely didn't seem all that levelheaded and was mumbling stupidly about revenge and that he was a fucking star. _Except you aren't oh father of mine_ , Logan thought evilly and shifted gears. _No one wants you on their set and you're slowly fading into nothing without your star power. And I love it!_

Logan was brought out of his admittedly happy thoughts about his father's rapid decline by his ringing cell phone and he rummaged around in his jacket pocket and found it and quickly answered.

"Hi Logan it's me."

Veronica's voice was almost as happy sounding as his own was and Logan smiled again. "What's up Ronnie? Want to get a ride to school with Neptune's finest?"

Veronica chuckled, "I don't recall dialing Dick's number…"

Logan laughed; his mood skyrocketed when he heard the crystal tones of her answering laugh. In the distance he could hear her fixing herself a bowl of cereal and he smiled to himself and once again thanked the Heavens for letting her slowly recover from her eating disorder. _It's not easy for her, but she's beating it and I love her all the more for it. She's stronger than I ever will be._

Logan's own addiction was thankfully a thing of the past. He'd struggled for a while and would probably never truly get over his want for the drugs, but he could now easily overcome the urges. _All I have to do is see Ronnie smile._

"What no comeback?" Veronica's voice sounded a few seconds later, when Logan still hadn't responded to her quip.

"I was merely recovering after that cruel – cruel – joke," Logan explained with a chuckle. "Funny things aside - What's up Ronnie?"

Veronica's smile was almost touchable and Logan resisted the urge to turn the car around and drive back to her house immediately just to see her as fast as possible. "I gotta explain wanting to talk to my friend? Don't worry it isn't anything serious, I'm just waiting for Lils to pick me up and I was bored."

"You're always welcome to call me," Logan offered.

"I know that and that's why I called," Veronica's teasing voice sent shivers down his spine and he smiled in pure bliss like a crushing schoolboy – ignoring that part of him that rightfully pointed out that he indeed _was_ a crushing schoolboy.

"Well then, let me amuse you." Logan lounged into a descriptive explanation about the Aaron Echolls news spot from the night before and they were laughing loudly until Veronica's laugh abruptly ended.

"Ronnie? What's wrong?" Logan's heart rate immediately spiked in fear for her, but then it calmed when he heard Lianne's quivering voice in the background.

"… _Talk to me, please!"_

"Logan, I've gotta go – see you at school?"

Logan agreed and ended the call, just as he pulled into the parking lot. He was frowning as he exited his beloved car – or monstrosity as Veronica and Lily sometimes called it. _All in an act of affection_ , Logan tried to convince himself unsuccessfully and cast a loving look at his vehicle.

 _I hope Lianne finally let's Veronica go to her dad. He's the best thing for her and he misses her just as much as she does him, maybe more._ Logan's skin prickled as the memory of the look in Keith eyes that day in the police station came to his mind. _Oh yeah, he definitely misses his child…_

"Hi Logan."

The high pitched sounding voice brought him back to the present and he turned his head and looked at Caitlin Ford. Her face was twisted into that humongous smile she seemed to reserve for him and the amount of makeup on her face could probably be used to build a cottage somewhere in Africa. The manufactured blonde hair almost hurt his eyes. Logan swallowed down a sigh and glanced to her left and locked eyes with Shelly Pomeroy instead. _Now that's more like it_ , he decided. There was something about her that reminded Logan of another more natural blonde. _And I haven't fooled around with her yet_ , a more primal side of him added.

"Hey Shelly," he greeted and smirked flirtatiously – ignoring Caitlin's attempt of seduction through her blackened eyes. He still was Logan Echolls after all. "You're looking fine this morning."

Shelly smiled with pleasure over her own beauty and after having cast a smug look at her girlfriend, she linked her arm through his. Logan fought off the initial discomfort of her touch. _Even after all this time Veronica's touch is still the only one that doesn't make me uncomfortable._

For one brief second Logan remembered that it was only during sexual encounters he seemed to be free from his handicap. _Which is damn lucky_ , he thought with no small amount of internal relief; _imagine if I couldn't have sex – that'd be too horrible a concept to even think about._

"Wanna hang out after school?" Shelly asked and winked seductively up at him. _She's much better at that then Caitlin_ , Logan decided and smiled.

"Maybe, I might have some plans later."

Shelley's eyes darkened momentarily and Logan knew why. It wasn't a secret that he spent most of his time with his two female friends. More so than with anyone else. After Veronica's near death experience, Logan had poured all his energy into getting her and himself healthy again.

Lily had become even closer to him than before and he just knew that despite their past together, they'd always be best friends. Of course Logan almost wished that wasn't the case, when Lily had kept her promise from the night in the hospital and given him a bruise on the arm that not even Aaron Echolls could hope to copy.

"Oh, okay," Shelley finally murmured and Logan got back to the present with his signature smirk.

"I'll catch you later," was all he said before he walked away to locate his two friends.

Later during lunch Logan was chatting amiably with the girl he loved. Lily joined them after he'd made a stupid remark about their earlier phone call and brought back Veronica's good mood with ease. _A skill I envy more than anything_ , Logan thought with an internal head roll.

Suddenly their attention was caught by Duncan being an ass per usual and before Logan even got a chance to move, he watched as Veronica came to her ex-boyfriend's aid without hesitation despite the fact that the Kane heir had been a jerk towards her for over a year.

Logan tried not to follow her; he really did, but it was useless and he knew that. He delivered some vague remark to a smirking Lily and quickly walked over to the current hotspot.

 _Of course she's too proud to accept help,_ Logan realized and he felt a mix of mild annoyance, concern and real pride swell up in his chest.

After the tiny girl had put the fear of God in the arrogant 09'er in mere seconds, Logan had to restrain himself from reacting violently as Duncan sneered to Veronica, that he didn't need any help.

Fortunately for Logan's peace of mind, Veronica simply shrugged as though she didn't care and walked away. Logan chose to stay behind.

The two males kept their silence until the Mars girl had disappeared in the crowd. Then Logan turned back to his old friend and crossed his arms while asking coolly, "Do you get your jollies off being an asshole? 'Cause I gotta say it's really unbecoming on you."

Duncan rolled his eyes and tried to look as nonchalant as possible. Logan didn't buy it; he saw something he recognized in the Kane heir's eyes. Fear.

 _He's afraid of me?_ Logan couldn't quite believe it. Duncan was a lot of things, but he usually wasn't a guy that scared easily.

"Look," Logan lost his initial desire to pummel the other guy for insulting Veronica's helping hand, "why can't you just – I don't know, relax for once. I mean stop being a retarded ass to everyone."

Duncan raised a brow and crossed his own arms. "I didn't know you cared."

Logan smirked, "I don't – at least not as much as I thought I would."

Duncan sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. _He looks tired_ , Logan observed silently.

"I don't wanna fight you Logan; I'm not in the mood."

Logan smiled and sat down on the bench beside Duncan's wheelchair. "Neither am I. I'm sick and tired of all the drama around here. You used to be a decent guy, why can't you just go back to that?"

Duncan's calm demeanor seemed to crack a bit and his eyes turned colder. "You know the answer to that question. I can't _go_ anywhere anymore and it's all because of-"

"If you say Veronica, so help me God, I'll make sure they never find your body!" Logan's temper rose immediately in defense of his best friend.

"Why is it that everyone takes her side?" Duncan looked seriously perplexed. "I mean, I was your friend first. And Lily is my sister. Tell me why, Logan 'because I honestly don't understand. She's responsible for this whole mess in the first place. She wanted to go home early that night and…"

Logan clenched his fists and he felt his nails break the skin in his hands. _Relax Logan, he's trying for once_ , he ordered internally.

After another brief silence, Logan felt in enough control to try to verbalize his thoughts on the matter.

"You're forgetting several things D.K., and listen carefully, because this is the only time I'll ever say it. We all wanted to go home that night; the party was boring as hell. Lily and I were drunk. Veronica and you weren't. You woke up after the accident and instead of thanking your faerie godmother you immediately blame the girl who saved your life."

Duncan was about to interrupt, but Logan held up a hand and continued with a voice of steel. "And before you even say a word, let me kindly remind you that you were unconscious right after the accident and I was not! I still wake up from nightmares every now and again, haunted by the look of determination and fear in her eyes. Trust me for once in your pathetic existence: Veronica Mars saved all of our lives…So pull your head out of your ass and get with the program!"

Logan couldn't keep his voice from rising at the end and he sighed in frustration and ended his lecture, "The sad thing about all of this is that she actually still cares about you. In fact, I'm pretty sure that out of all of us, she's the one that loves you the most." He wisely ignored that inwardly pinch of mild jealousy about Veronica loving someone other than him and got to his feet and walked to class without looking back.

Due to one part his talk with Duncan and one part extremely untalented teacher, Logan had a hard time keeping his interest up in class and he placed his head in his arms and prepared to take a well deserved nap.

A piece of paper hit him a moment later and thoroughly kicked that plan to the curb.

Logan looked around and met Dick's grinning eyes. Logan rolled his eyes, but inwardly he was grinning too. _Leave it to Dick to cheer my day up_ … The two guys didn't pay much attention for the rest of the class and they shared their last class of the day too, so Logan's mood was high when the bell rang for the last time.

"Ah, sweet freedom, dude!"

 _Dick seems to feel the same_ , Logan thought with a bemused smile as he watched his fellow 09'er all but run by him to reach the parking lot. He was thwarted in his attempt though, by that girl, Mac that both Lily and Veronica seemed to like so much.

"Hey watch it Ghostworld," Dick still wasn't king of pleasantries.

 _If Mac's eyes could kill, you'd be dead by now;_ Logan thought out to his friend and turned to leave. Out of the corner of his eye he absentmindedly watched as Mac seemed to shake off her initial reaction to his insult and begin talking quietly to him.

 _She looks weirded out – I wonder what that's all about, she's usually so calm,_ Logan noticed, but he forgot all about it a moment later, when a well manicured hand reached out and pulled him around the corner.

"Hi," Shelly's voice oozed naughty intentions and Logan couldn't help but fall in line with his own greeting.

Shelly beamed up at him and Logan briefly wondered how much cash her parents had to cough up to give their child those movie star teeth.

"Wanna go have some fun?" Shelly's eyes shone with fake innocence. _I like it!_

As he followed the smaller girl's steps, and once again ignored Caitlin Ford's lusting eyes on him, Logan knew he had to hurry with his fun. _Veronica probably needs some fun tonight after spending all morning with her mother._

"Logan? Are you here – or should I continue?"

Logan flinched out of his thoughts when he suddenly realized what was going on in front of him. Shelly stood a few steps away from him next to an open door into an unused classroom and half of her left breast was showing and the look in her eyes clearly told him what she wanted from him.

"Who am I to come between a show? Continue, please."

When the right breast began to show, Logan glanced around the empty hallway, grinned and grabbed Shelly around the waist and guided her into the classroom – ignoring that tiny voice that tried to remind about his plans to be with Veronica after school – and closed the door with a bang.

Sometime later Logan re-opened the door and emerged with a smirk firmly in place, he was buttoning his open shirt and finger combed his hair with practiced ease. Anyone who'd see him at that moment wouldn't guess that he was cursing himself. _It's just sex, I should be able to perform completely! She wouldn't even find out..._ Logan shook his head, _of course she would - Veronica always finds out..._

Shelly followed; the look on her face was a mix between pride for luring the popular 09'er away from his not so popular friends and displeasure over the fact that it hadn't gone as far as she'd wanted it too. She pulled out a hairbrush from her bag and began fixing herself. After a quick glance up at him, she muttered, "You didn't have to leave, you know. We could just keep fooling around. It's nice too you know and then maybe we'd continue on."

Logan turned with a raised eyebrow. His inwardly penance to Veronica momentarily forgotten. "Oh, really? What did you expect? That I'd take you home and shower you with affection and cuddlies? I don't do that kind of stuff, remember."

Shelly bit her lip and tilted her head a bit in thought.

Logan fought down a sudden wave of nausea when his latest flame used one of Veronica's signature moves. _I'd do every sentimental romantic gesture if it had been Ronnie._

"Look," Logan straightened his shoulders and took Shelly's manicured hand and led her down the hallway. "I'm not a good guy, but that's not exactly unknown news around here. Besides, you wouldn't want me for a regular boy toy – I'm too much of an ass, trust me on that one."

Shelly's lip twitched into a half smile. "Yeah, Caitlin warned me about you being a "sex them and leave them" kindda guy. Just remember that I'm always ready for another go Logan. A real full time go. Anytime," Shelly's smile turned seductive and she stopped and turned Logan around to face her, " _anywhere_ …"

In the next moment Shelly practically attacked his lips and Logan sighed internally. _What the hell, kissing isn't such a bad thing_. _It can be very nice. At least that's one thing I know how to do well..._

Their kiss expanded quickly and Logan used his practiced mouth to turn Shelley into goo before him - silently cursing himself for being such a wuss. _Yeah it would be even nicer if it was Veronica's lips!_ He felt Shelly's hands in his hair and he deepened the kiss. _Thank god it's late and there's no one around – not a big fan of public facetime_ , Logan thought pragmatically with the part of his mind that always stayed in control during these encounters.

 _Or almost no one_ , he realized a few seconds later when a soft gasp distracted him from kissing a wet trail down Shelly's neck. His head snapped up and his eyes fell into the big blue ones that belonged to the girl he always wished he was kissing.

They looked at each other for what seemed for Logan to be an eternity. His heart pounded and he felt sweat pouring out of his pores as he mentally cursed himself for not being more careful.

Veronica suddenly moved without any warning and ran in the opposite direction. Logan fought off Shelly's wandering hands and ran after her without a word.

 _Please don't hate me_ , he kept thinking as his much longer legs quickly caught up to Veronica. She kept running even though she must have heard his approach and Logan decided to force her to listen to him, _I can't lose her – I won't!_ He grabbed her around the waist and he could feel her tremble in fury.

"Stop running and calm down!" The demand was yelled out as he tried to avoid her kicking legs. She tore at his arms around her and when that didn't work, she resorted to insults.

"Let me go, you moron and go back whoring with that _whore!"_

 _That's it!_ Before Logan took time to figure out why her words hurt more than they should, he had slammed her into the wall and trapped her flaying arms under his and his face was a mere inch from hers as he demanded, "Will you stop acting like a freaking weirdo and listen to me?" _Please listen!_

If eyes could kill, Logan knew he'd be a dead man. Fortunately for him, Veronica's eyes couldn't kill so she began talking in a sneering tone of voice. "No! I was just waiting for you to take me home and then I walk in on you doing…What are you thinking? She's a tramp!"

 _Yeah, I know that – and that's what I was thinking,_ Logan commented internally with an eye roll.

Suddenly looking even more infuriated Veronica kicked out with one of her legs, but Logan dodged it and consequently came closer to her and used his superior size to keep her in line. "Stop that!"

The glare of death intensified and Logan swallowed a sigh. "Shelly is just a way for me to release some tension." A wave of his own anger rolled through him when her eyes didn't soften a bit and Logan continued loudly. "I've done nothing that I should be sorry about, Ronnie. You're not the boss of me. I can screw whoever I want!"

All her power seemed to seep out of her and she turned her head away. _Damn it,_ Logan thought and cursed his temper for the umpteenth time, _now she's really gonna despise me._

Her voice was quiet, almost dead sounding when she softly responded a few seconds later. "No, I'm not. You can let go of me now."

_I'll fix this Veronica, I promise!_

"I'll just go apologize to Shelly and then I'll drive you home." He watched her nod mutely and she walked away without saying another word. _Damn it…_

Logan walked back to Shelly and stopped when he was a few feet away from her. She eyed him curiously – seemingly noticing his lack of former intentions.

"Are you coming?"

Logan shook his head and awkwardly rubbed his neck. "Look, I…err, I promised to take Veronica home, so…"

Shelly didn't react like he knew Caitlin would have. She didn't scream in a jealous fit or curse him for his very existence. No, instead she shocked the hell out of him by simply smiling and saying, "Well, I hope you two finally figure things out. It's taken long enough already. Go to her – don't worry about me."

Logan smiled and quickly walked back to Veronica. The entire walk he was consumed in thoughts about how to fix this mess. _I gotta let her know that she means everything to me. She must like me a little too, 'cause she went ballistic. I just hope she doesn't think I'm disgusting…Or hates me for going off on her like that._

As he neared the car and Logan could see the object of his thoughts, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. _Well, here goes nothing._ _Please let this go well,_ he prayed quickly and took the last few steps to his car and entered it silently with Veronica.

Somehow he managed to apologize, but then Veronica's response forced him to reveal his true feelings for her. And then fireworks went off in his head and rainbows and butterflies erupted all around him, because Veronica Mars actually told him that she loved him back.

Unable to control himself any longer, Logan kissed her – one part of him briefly wondered – and hoped – that she couldn't taste Shelly on his lips. The rest of him savored the whole experience.

After a long while Logan gently broke the kiss and looked her in the eyes. "I love you," he muttered.

Veronica's slightly dazed looking eyes blinked and she smiled gently, "I love you too – now," her eyes turned mischievous as she leaned closer to him. "Why don't we go back to your house to talk about _that_ some more?"

Logan grinned goofily and turned the engine back on, "I'm up for talking some more."

Veronica placed her hand on his on the gearshift and smiled. "I'm glad and I'm glad that you seem so glad too."

Logan rolled his eyes, "This day has been a great day so far. I mean, it was full of good omens."

Veronica tilted her head teasingly and Logan continued with mock seriousness, "Well, it was. Pancakes for breakfast for one thing. _Chocolate_ pancakes."

Veronica simply smiled and shook her head. Logan grinned again _. I've been doing that a lot this last hour_ , he thought happily. "Tease me all you want Mars – I'm telling you, nothing about this day will suck. This is fast becoming the happiest day of my life and nothing can ruin that."

Veronica laughed and kissed him on the cheek and they quickly – as quickly as Veronica could handle it – drove back to Logan's house.

Five hours later Logan Echolls stumbled into the Kane's huge mansion. His shirt was ripped and full of blood. He was pale and sick looking. His eyes were wild and he had a growing bruise on his forehead from which was leaking blood.

"LILY!"

The scream was hoarse and full of pain and drew the attention from every occupant in the home.

Duncan arrived first and his eyes took in Logan's attire and he froze in shock. A moment later Lily came thundering down the stairs, with none other than Weevil Navarro hot on her heals.

"Logan? Oh my God, what happened to you?!"

Logan's wide eyes turned deadly looking and he scanned Weevil behind his friend. Weevil nodded seriously and Logan seemed to snap out of his momentary calm and he returned his wild eyes to Lily's scared ones.

"I need help – please help me Lily," Logan crumbled completely and sank to the floor with a moan of the purest agony on his lips.

They all stood immobile, watching this normally so strong person writhe in pain before them. Then Lily heard him mutter Veronica's name and was catapulted into action.

Lily quickly ran to his side and roughly grabbed his cheeks. "What about Veronica? LOGAN! Focus, please!"

Logan blinked and his warm tears trailed down over Lily's cold hands. "She – We were at my house…Then she needed a ride home, but then her phone rang and I let her go into the car first to have some privacy. He-he…"

Logan's voice faltered and it was clear to all that only Lily's grip on him, kept him lucid. "Then what?" she asked quietly with tears growing in her eyes.

Logan swallowed once, trembled with fear and rage. Then he blinked and turned to stone as he continued calmly, "He said he wanted things back the way they used to be. He took her!"

Lily's hands fell from his face, but he didn't even notice. "He's going to kill her Lily – I tried to stop him, but he just kept driving, didn't stop even though I was right in front of the car. When I woke up, they were nowhere to be seen and I came here. Help me Lily; help me find my dad before he kills the one person I love more than anything – help me before I track him down and become a killer myself."

**0o0o0**

**TBC…**

* * *


	17. Special Interlude Chapter by Duncan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we all looove him, he needed to get some things out...lol. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you'll stick by me even as we enter the climax of over the top drama for this little tale of mine...
> 
> Enjoy!

**A SPECIEL INTERLUDE CHAPTER: DUNCAN  
**

The car hissed as the machinery in it helped him and his stupid and very much hated chair back down to the ground. Duncan gritted his teeth and used his arms to pull himself away from the ramp of the car and turned the wheelchair in the direction of his home.

He nodded a silent thanks to his chauffeur, to whom he practically never said a word. Duncan sighed and continued towards the mansion when the quiet driver returned the nod with his usual look of pity. _It was so much more fun when Lily used to drive me around;_ Duncan admitted and finally went inside his home.

The moment Duncan's wheels landed on the marble floor of the hall, he tilted his head and listened to make sure that he was alone as he sometimes was these days. _Ha_ , Duncan rolled his eyes over his own understatement. _I'm always alone these days. Everyone's_ _abandoned me._

An unexpected image of Veronica from lunch at school and Logan's words flared through his mind and Duncan winced. _**The sad thing about all of this is that she actually still cares about you. In fact, I'm pretty sure that out of all of us, she's the one that loves you the most**_ _ **.**_

 _Why did he have to go all rational on me now,_ Duncan asked himself and pushed his way towards the kitchen. Due to his former friends behaving like idiots and the following confrontation with Logan, Duncan hadn't really had a chance to eat since breakfast and paralyzed or not, he still needed a lot of food.

As he entered the kitchen, Duncan spotted the Spanish maid Consuela. Duncan almost turned around to avoid the woman, who'd been favoring Lily for years and never made an attempt to hide her disappointment in him.

"Good day Mr. Kane," Consuela's accent was heavy and exaggerated as always when she spoke to him.

Duncan swallowed a sigh and once again cursed the wheelchair for his slowness. He was about to curse Veronica too, it was sort of a ritual of his after all, but Logan's words came back to him and before he realized it, Duncan had let the chance go by.

"Hey Consuela – I just wanted to see if there was something to eat."

Consuela's dark brown eyes glinted and her tone turned into a fake sweetness, full of eagerness to please, "Of course young sir, I can whip something up immediately. I'm always happy to assist you. I'm _only_ a servant and must do as I'm told…"

Duncan closed his eyes briefly and felt something he barely recognized. It took him a moment, but finally he realized the alien feeling in his gut was shame and regret mixed into one. He knew very well why Consuela acted so disappointed around him these days.

Just a few weeks ago, his self-pity, anger, frustration and sorrow over his life had reached a new high and he'd been in the midst of a towering rage in the very kitchen he now sat. Consuela had appeared when it was clear that neither of his parents wanted to get involved. Celeste had been too busy talking on the phone with one of the few acquaintances she still had after her husband's scandals and Jake was as always in a certain other woman's home ignoring the fact that his actions brought pain and agony to his family more and more each day.

Without fear Consuela had mutely bent down and embraced him. Duncan could still feel the strange feeling that had risen in his chest by just being held quietly in another person's arms.

Then Consuela had whispered, "I hope you will begin to see reason soon," and Duncan's brief reprieve from the never-ending anger ended and he'd pushed the older woman away roughly and hissed that she shouldn't meddle in other people's affairs; she was only a servant and he expected her to do nothing but do as she was told. And then he'd left without another glance at the woman, he knew once loved him like a son.

 _And now I have some serious damage control to do_ , Duncan thought and braved a small smile at Consuela, who'd begun making a sandwich for him when he hadn't answered right away.

"How's your day been?" _what? She's not my wife – what a stupid question_! The internal cringing ended and turned to fearful hope when Consuela slowly put down the knife in her hand and turned back in his direction.

"I've been doing my job of course," she replied coldly.

"Uhm," Duncan's courage faltered under the increasingly cold stare – memories of times where she'd scolded him in the past flew by them and he fought to remember that he loved this sour looking female and she really _did_ deserve an apology. _So do a lot of people_ , his rarely heard from conscience pointed out. Duncan ignored it and soldiered on.

"I'm sorry that I acted like a jerk and you know you're more than just a maid to us – to me…"

Consuela's eyes didn't soften as he'd expected and he swallowed a lump of fear as she took a few steps towards him and crossed her arms.

"You're sorry, you say? Well, I'm sorry too, I should never have expected that you'd change after you treated Lily so poorly. I'm sorry that I didn't make myself clear in my disappointment in you!"

Duncan forced back his anger – allowing the woman to have her say. A part of his mind realized that it had been a very long time since he'd even attempted to rein in his darker emotions. _I have to try more_ , he decided as the anger slowly ebbed away.

"I apologize Consuela, what else can I do?"

Consuela sighed and her eyes finally showed some other emotion than displeasure. "Be that boy who used to laugh all the time again and remember that your sister never deserved your attitude – she deserved your respect. Here, enjoy."

Duncan took the plate with the sandwich and watched Consuela leave the kitchen without another word. His appetite had completely vanished and he carefully placed it on the nearest counter and pushed himself towards the elevator his parents had gotten installed after the accident.

He went into his room and closed the door with a gentleness he hadn't even realized he'd been missing.

_Why am I so concerned about the past all of the sudden? They left me –_ _**all** _ _of them, even her. She never even apologized for ruining my life that night._

Duncan's chaotic thoughts were interrupted by another internal memory of Logan's voice from earlier. _**You used to be a decent guy, why can't you just go back to that?**_

Duncan tried to ignore the persistent tone of Logan in his mind and let his eyes wander around his impressive room. It was more cluttered than usual, but Duncan simply put that down to the fact that Consuela hadn't bothered to clean up for him after his rant.

His eyes landed on the one picture he hadn't been able to get rid off after his anger and hate had begun eating away at him. Logan stood behind Lily at the quad with his hands on her shoulders. Lily was smiling widely at Veronica by her side. He himself was standing smiling behind a grinning Veronica, whose eyes looked more open then he remembered.

Unable to resist, Duncan pushed the chair closer to the framed picture on his desk and eyed the one person he had sworn to loather for all eternity. _She looked happy back then_ ; he thought and bit his lip in hesitance. _I never even realized she didn't look happy anymore._

Duncan sighed and looked away from the picture _. And why should you give a damn whether or not she's happy? She ruined your life!_ The usual internal angry dialogue swept in and tried to take hold of him again, but for the first time in over a year, Duncan tried to resist its calling.

_Because no matter what I loved her and she used to love me._

Duncan smiled and ran a hand through his hair, _hell; she's the only one who still seems to genuinely care about me, just like Logan said._

The thoughts kept clouding his mind and Duncan forced himself to catalogue them and see them for what they were. And very, very slowly he understood two things. One, he had a right to be angry over his handicapped state – he was allowed to mourn the loss of his legs, he was just a kid after all. Two, Duncan smiled again _. I have to forgive Veronica and the others for a betrayal that really wasn't a betrayal at all._

The epiphany began to clear his mind of the disease it'd been living with ever since he discovered that his legs would never be of any use to him again and the smile turned into a grin.

Duncan's thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing and he quickly answered it when he saw who the caller was. His heart was suddenly pounding and he felt a telltale blush creep up his cheeks, which made him very thankful to be alone.

"Hi Meg."

Meg's clear, gentle voice responded instantly. "Hi Duncan. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry that I wasn't at lunch today, my cheer practice took longer than expected and…well, I heard what happened and wanted to tell you that I never thought for one second you killed Madison."

The words soared right into Duncan's aching heart and for the first time he noticed that none of his so called friends had ever done anything to him as long as Meg Manning was in their midst. _She really believed me from the start and even tried to protect me..._

"Thank you – I really appreciate you saying that Meg."

Meg's laugh was like a soothing balm on a hurt Duncan had repressed and he relaxed in his chair for the first time that day. _Now you just have to not screw this shot up_ , a voice sounded inside his mind. It sounded suspiciously like Lily's voice and Duncan grinned in agreement _. Definitely._

He spent a long time on the phone with Meg. The serious start of the conversation quickly turned to more casual things and before he knew it, they'd moved onto innocent flirting. _She's so wonderful, I could just keep talking to her forever._

Duncan finally ended the call with a promise to call her again later, when he heard a door slam from downstairs and then his father's booming voice.

When Duncan then heard his sister's voice return the yell with a firm, "Oh shut the hell up for once you pathetic excuse for a man," he moved faster than he ever remembered doing and was downstairs within moments.

What he saw made his jaw drop in astonishment.

Lily was standing in front of Weevil Navarro, whose dark eyes promised pain of death to Jake Kane, who stood in front of Lily with his own fury glowing out of his eyes. Celeste, Duncan noticed absentmindedly, was standing still in the distance looking just as flabbergasted as he felt.

"What the hell is going on in here?" The words left his mouth without thought and Lily turned her head in his direction. The look in her eyes made him flinch. _She looks like she truly hates me right now._

"Hello Duncan," Lily's voice was anything but friendly and Duncan began to regret ever going downstairs in the first place.

"I'm glad you showed up, I really wanted all my so called family members to be with me when I do this."

Duncan frowned and glanced over at his father, who still looked angrier than he'd ever seen with his eyes firmly locked in a death stare with Weevil. "Okay, I'm here…"

Lily nodded determinedly and said coolly, "Good. I need you to listen to me because I just can't do this properly if I'm interrupted all the time."

Jake broke off the staring contest and looked down at his angry-looking first born. "I understand Lily, but I do not want that hooligan here when we're having a family meeting and-"

Weevil cut through the attempted snobbery by placing his hands on Lily's slim waist and said, "Too bad, 'cause I ain't going anywhere."

Lily smiled briefly at him and then scolded Jake with her glare. "Weevil is part of _my_ family. He means a heck of a lot more to me than you do right now, so shut up."

Duncan's jaw dropped a few more inches when Jake simply obliged and Celeste didn't seem to dare interrupt either. _I need to apologize to her, but she doesn't have to treat our parents like crap._

A second later, Duncan had said something along those lines and was now receiving the ice look from Lily instead. "I don't have to treat them like crap? Oh, I hope you remember this moment in a few minutes."

Lily gestured to Weevil, who nodded mutely and pulled out a few pieces of paper from the pockets of his leather jacket and handed them to her. Lily calmly unfolded them and looked back up at her father.

"Do you wanna know what I've got in my hands right now? It's a means to get you the hell out of my life and more importantly Veronica's life."

Jake's eye roll was obvious to Duncan even though he couldn't see it and he frowned in confusion when Lily simply shook her head and continued. "You once tried to force me out of my best friend's life and I – being weak – listened. Now I finally have something to force you out with. Both of you," Lily's eyes wandered over to the still frozen Celeste and she added, "I could ruin you both so easily right now."

Unable to contain his curiosity Duncan pushed closer and placed himself next to his father. He was confused; knowing that his father was a cheating son of a bitch and resentment from that struggled with the new look in Lily's eyes – as though she was preparing to step into battle. _I have to choose a side…_

"Now," Lily continued and straightened up. Her eyes looked dangerous and Duncan squirmed uncomfortably as the look reminded him of the day he'd first cursed her for abandoning him. "Jake - why don't you tell me why you never told anyone about your marriage with one Lianne Mars?"

Duncan's head snapped back to his father so fast he feared he might get whiplash. "What?"

Jake's suntanned skin turned an ugly grayish color and he swallowed visibly. "Lily don't be absurd – I'm married to your mother."

They all saw the panicked glance he threw in Celeste's direction.

Lily's eyes met Duncan's and she smirked evilly as though she liked to see the shock on his face. "I'm sure you are Daddy dearest, but the fact remains that you're still very much married to a certain mother of my best friend."

"WHAT?" this time it was Celeste's shriek that broke the following silence and Duncan watched her emerge from the corner with pure fury in her eyes. "You're still married to her? You told me you handled it before we got married!"

Jake seemed unable to form words, but Lily didn't seem to have any problems with that. "He married Lianne in high school with forged signatures and a paid off false witness when they got to Vegas – which reminds me," Lily's voice turned mocking and condescending, "married in an Elvis chapel? Really?"

 _Mom looks like she's about to have an aneurism_ , Duncan observed in silence as the shock kept flying over him.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Jake's voice stuttered and Duncan's doubt disappeared in that moment, he realized that Lily was right because Jake Kane did not stutter. Ever.

"Want me to continue?" Lily's eyes were locked on Jake's face and if Duncan hadn't been so caught up in his own emotional whirlwind he might have pitied his father.

"So – you fooled around with Miss-Want-to-Get-Ahead over there some time later," Lily nodded to her offended looking mother, "and Lianne did the same with Mr. Mars and voila, two women pregnant. You used every trick in the book to get Celeste to terminate her pregnancy," Lily nodded to her mother once more, "which by the way I – as the baby in question – very much appreciate that you didn't agree too."

Jake tried to interrupt Lily's story, but Weevil simply stepped up next to her and re-entered the staring contest from before.

"You went to your wife and confessed everything. The dear little missus got so upset, she lost her kid. She was all fit to escape town with you in the middle of the night, but neither of you had considered Mr. Mars intelligence and keen observational skills, 'cause he figured out Lianne was having his child and proposed. Celeste still wouldn't budge and our beloved grandparents freaked when Celeste showed up on their doorstep announcing her pregnancy and Jake's reluctance to do right by her. Am I getting this out right?"

Lily scanned her parent's faces and seeming content with what she saw, she continued, "Having your parent's pressure you seemed to devour all your loyalty to your young wife and you agreed to marry Celeste. Lianne of course, acted like any scorned female would and married the first guy to come along – or in her case, the one she had ensnared already. And between you and me, I still don't see what he saw in her. So here ends the tale. Jakey boy married one woman, left her for another and forgot all about divorces, 'cause during that time he began growing in wealth and didn't want to risk his fortune being divided in a nasty settlement…"

The quiet that followed the end of Lily's mocking summary was louder than any noise could ever be and Duncan's mind was reeling, trying its hardest to contain the new knowledge. _This can't be happening - this shouldn't be happening_. The words repeated themselves in his head and he shook it in an attempt to clear it.

"You really are a self-centered little bitch," Jake's voice had lost its hesitance and turned into an evil replica of Lily's cool one. "I gave you life and whatever you wanted you got and this is how you repay me?"

Lily froze and seemed unprepared to take on a violently angry father and Duncan cursed his lack of legs when Jake stepped closer to her. _I have to choose a side now_ ; Duncan thought and clenched his muscles. _If I don't act soon I'll lose the last tie to my family forever._

Just before Duncan was about to wheel closer to capture his father's attention, Weevil proved his fierce love for Lily. "One more step and see what happens."

"Shut up boy!"

Jake focused on the Latino and Lily used the distraction to look down at Duncan. I _want to choose you, but I don't know if you'll ever let me back in after all I've said and done to you_ , the internal wording never left his lips, because in that moment Jake snapped for good.

"Why couldn't you just do as I said Lily? Huh? All you had to do was leave Lianne's daughter alone! I have to make sure Lianne forgives me for good by making Veronica love her again, okay!? I'll do anything for that to happen! Veronica could have been mine! You're nothing but second best, all of you!"

Celeste screamed and slapped him hard enough to make him stumble backwards. "Don't you call my children second best, you idiot! Haven't you done enough? If you'd just been able to keep it in your pants, none of this would have happened!"

Duncan wanted to choke his mother in that moment. Yes, she'd come to her kids' defense, but she still wanted to bury her head in the sand and ignore the rest of it.

Jake had come to the same conclusion. "I'm sorry Celeste, she has this power over me and I love her. I want to make her happy. Why won't you just leave me already?"

Celeste's smile looked so much like Lily's that Duncan couldn't help but notice how much they actually looked alike. "And lose my standing in the society? Not in a million years. End things with _Lianne_ ," the name was sneered out like a hated word, "and things can get back to normal around here."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but that ain't gonna happen." Lily's voice was like steel and Jake's eyes fell back on her.

"Listen sweetie, I'm sorry that I-"

"Don't come closer man, I'm warning you." Weevil's eyes promised death as Jake took a few steps closer to his only daughter.

"Damn it…DAMN IT!" Jake's eyes turned wild and he gestured roughly at Lily. Celeste retreated to the corners – obviously afraid of him. Duncan sat forgotten and watched everything through narrowed eyes.

 _Lily is trying to help Veronica, staying more loyal to her best friend than she's ever been to me_. The bitterness was hard to fight back, but with a sigh Duncan managed it. _Of course she would, I've been nothing but an ass towards her ever since she told me that she'd choose Veronica's side. Well, now I'm choosing **my** side finally._

"Jake shut up."

They all turned to him in surprise. His voice was full of determination and a hardness that no one had thought him capable of.

"Veronica doesn't belong to you. She doesn't love her mom, 'cause she's an unrealistic drunk and unlike Lily or me, she's not your child. She's Keith Mars' in body and soul."

Jake's eyes widened, but he quickly got his bearings again and hissed, "I know – don't you think I know? Lianne didn't let me near her until Veronica was four. Apparently she tried to make her life with _Keith_ ," now it was his turn to sneer, "work. I respected that, but then I had to watch her turn miserable and start drinking because she couldn't be with me. I made her what she is today and I love her too much to leave her. I'll give her anything she wants and she wants that snooty kid of hers to love her, and I made that happen!"

Duncan laughed – the sound surprised everyone once more. "She _hates_ her mom – even I know that. She'll never love her mother, get over it."

Suddenly, Duncan was held firmly by the throat by his father. Jake looked insane when he squeezed his son's tender flesh. "She'll do as I say! I already forced that idiotic sheriff to stay away by threatening to kill the kid. And Lianne and I made it perfectly clear what will happen to her daddy if she doesn't stay away from him."

Duncan realized more clearly than ever in that moment just how much he actually still cared about his ex-girlfriend. In the distance he heard Lily's shocked gasp of outrage and Weevil's soothing murmur, but he almost didn't recognize the sounds. A red cloud of pure fury was creeping over his vision and taking over his heart and soul and he lunged with a roar.

When he came back to his senses, he noticed that he was now on top of his father, who was bleeding a lot from his nose and mouth. They were on the cool marble floor and Duncan vaguely recalled how he'd catapulted out of the wheelchair to make his father pay for all his crimes.

He was breathing heavily and sweating. "I think he's calming down now." Weevil's deep voice sounded from behind and Duncan felt two arms uncoil from his waist, just above the place where he still had feeling.

Then he understood. He'd suffered one of his rages – one of those which his mother kept him medicated to prevent _. I guess this was too much even for the drugs to take_ , Duncan thought and began dragging himself over to his turned over chair behind him.

Lily stepped forward and got it upright while Weevil helped him back into it. Duncan met his sister's eyes without hesitance and said, "I'll testify to all of this in court so we can get him locked away."

Celeste looked up from her attempt to help her bleeding, cheating husband to his feet, but the twin glares she got from her children kept her silent.

His father's eyes, which were so reminiscent of his own, were empty and still widened in dazed shock after Duncan's unexpected attack.

Duncan turned his eyes away from Jake and found his mother's again. Celeste was now standing immobile by her husband's side with her hands wringed together and her mouth halfway open as though she had been trying to offer a silent plea to the God above. _You're so_ _weak_ , Duncan thought coldly and sent one final glare in her direction and looked away.

"I think I'm going for a ride to calm down," he muttered and turned his chair around with practiced ease and was almost at the front door when Lily's warm hand on his shoulder stopped him and he looked back at her. _I'm so sorry for abandoning you Lily. It'll never happen again I swear._ He sent his apology through his eyes and hoped the message was received, because there was no way he was going to say it out loud after everything that happened that day.

Lily – being as perceptive as always – seemed to get it and Duncan let out a relieved internal sigh. "Thank you," she said sincerely and then her disfigured face lit up into a beautiful smile, "-Donut."

She turned and smiled sweetly up at the silent Weevil. _She looks at him like Logan looks at Veronica,_ Duncan realized with a tired smile. For once no bitterness or hate followed the thought of the blonde and he hoped he'd acted out all his anger on his moaning father, who his mother now had helped into the kitchen to help get cleaned up.

"Wanna see my bedroom?" Lily asked the Latino and he smiled, sent a nod to Duncan and let the Kane girl drag him up the stairs.

"This has been one crazy ass day," Duncan muttered. He didn't feel up for calling his chauffeur for a drive after all and compromised by pushing the wheelchair towards the elevator to go back up to his room. _Maybe I should call Meg again?_

Just as the doors began to close in the elevator, Duncan heard the front door slam open and a moment later, Logan's hoarse voice screamed for his sister.

 _He sounds like he's in trouble_ ; Duncan thought and quickly exited the elevator again. _Now is as good a time as any to prove to Logan that I'm still able to be his best friend, no matter what has happened in the past. It'll at least be easier than dealing with my own family drama._

When he rounded the corner and saw Logan's bleeding form, Duncan froze. _Why can't anything ever be simple around here?_

**0o0o0**

**TBC..**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also please remember this is fiction and as such the whole bigamy thing would definitely have been resolved differently in real life, but in my world, Celeste and Jake's obsession with remaining the top dogs in society coupled with idiocy has gotten them where they are now. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks again, and the next update will follow the usual pov shifts :D


	18. Veronica

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: VERONICA  
**

Veronica could feel the smile break out on her face. Her breath was growing faster as Logan's kisses trailed down her neck and found a sensitive spot she hadn't even been aware of. Her heart pounded in thrill and satisfaction when his dark hazel eyes gently removed her last piece of clothing and reminded her of his love. They both breathed out a heavy sigh when they were united for the first time. Veronica didn't even notice the alleged pain of one's first time – too caught up in the feelings her body experienced. Their eyes met and never wavered through their lovemaking. At the end when they fell over the edge with each other's name on their lips, then pulled in close, gently touching until they fell into a satisfied loving sleep.

Suddenly, a very wrong voice jarred her out of her dream, the memory of her lovemaking with Logan and she groaned as an intense pain flared up in her head and added to her discomfort. "Hey – wakey wakey – I was afraid that I'd hit you too hard there for a minute."

Veronica blinked out of what she'd shared with Logan the last time she'd been with him and was confronted with other memories of where she was and _why_.

Aaron Echolls' admittedly handsome face swam into her line of sight and Veronica swallowed a groan of fear when she met his eyes. _He's insane._

"Why are you doing this?" The words spilled before she even knew she was going to utter them.

Aaron chuckled and shifted gears in the car and Veronica closed her eyes in a silent prayer _. Please don't let him hurt me, please don't let Logan's father be the man that kills me._

The image of Logan's petrified eyes on her right before Aaron's fist connected with her face sprang into her mind and Veronica quickly reopened her eyes. The raw emotions Logan had had on his face were too much to even think about right now.

"So," Aaron's voice sounded again – this time with a mocking parody of fatherly concern in his tone, "I guess I should congratulate you for catching my boy's attention. Frankly I'm surprised it took so long. Between you and me," he sent her a scary smirk, "I wouldn't have resisted for so long, Miss Mars."

"You would never get a chance to touch me," Veronica snapped and she refused to look away when Aaron slowly turned to face her.

"You'd be surprised about how many women want to touch me. Even girls your age." The voice was steel now and Veronica shivered despite herself.

The pain from the punch radiated from her temple down to her fingers. Veronica looked down at her hands and gasped. Around her wrists were a piece of ordinary robe and it was wound tightly enough to make the hands darken in obvious discomfort.

"Oh _that_ ," Aaron's voice was all fatherly concern again, "I didn't really appreciate your lack of enthusiasm back there and thought it best to keep you from doing anything stupid that might end up with you getting hurt. Wasn't that nice of me?"

He glanced back at her when she didn't respond and sighed as though the world was a heavy burden on his shoulders. "Now, now little Veronica. Although your mother _is_ a slutty drunk, I know your father well enough to know that he instilled some manners in you. The least you could do was thank me for my consideration."

Veronica fought back bile and gritted her teeth _. I'm not playing along with your pathetic games_. _I won't be a victim._

The silence between them stretched on for several minutes and Veronica struggled to keep from showing any signs of distress.

Aaron's mouth turned grim and he sighed loudly with a headshake, "naughty, naughty little girl – I see it falls to me to teach you some respect for your superiors. Fortunately I know just the thing, I overheard Logan tell Lynne about it once…"

Veronica watched in growing horror as Aaron shifted the gears once more and then grinned as he tread down on the gas and gave the car a speed boost.

As always when she was in a moving car that went too fast, Veronica's heart rate escalated and her vision turned blurry as tears quickly formed and she gasped and all but choked on her own desperate need to escape the moving vehicle.

Slowly she became aware of Aaron's booming laughter over her behavior and turned up her struggle to beat down her fear _. I can't let him win – not so easily_. _Wait for a more opportune moment. Get it together Mars!_

Through the slightly more controlled haze of fear and hate, Veronica awkwardly dried her eyes with her bound hands and then frowned in confusion when she recognized the street they were now on.

"What are we doing back here?"

Aaron barely acknowledged her. He simply sent her another petrifying grin. Veronica refused to show that psycho anymore of her fear and bared her teeth in a soundless snarl. _I'll never bow to you!_

"Watch it blondie," Aaron warned her and then exited the car. Veronica immediately tried to lock the doors so he couldn't get to her, but the actor moved faster than she'd anticipated and a few seconds later, he was back at her side and grabbed her roughly around her thin waist.

"What my boy sees in such a skinny broad is beyond me," Aaron informed her and unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and began making his way inside his old home.

Veronica looked around, hoping to find a pedestrian so she could scream for help, but gave it up almost instantly. _Damn those rich people who don't want close neighbors_ , she cursed. _There's no one I can count on for help. Logan's probably injured after Aaron's sudden appearance and Lily can't do anything._

The image of Logan bleeding and looking scared out of his mind, when he realized that he couldn't save her, clenched Veronica's heart and she had to fight back tears.

 _Don't think about that – think about how wonderful he looked before that!_ Veronica demanded of herself and the heartbreaking picture of him, quickly turned into the one right before they'd fallen back on his bed. His eyes were gentle and nervous at the same time. "Are you sure?" He'd asked her quietly and when Veronica had nodded firmly and reached out for him, Logan's entire face lit up and showed a happy innocence she doubted anyone had seen in years.

Veronica breathed out some of her fears at the memory and ignored the fact that no one could help her now.

"What are you doing?"

Lynne's voice was loud, angry, scared and fearless at the same time and Veronica started on Aaron's shoulders. _I can't let anything happen to Logan's mom!_

"Hiya sweetheart," Aaron's voice was affectionate and without warning he threw Veronica onto the hard floor and walked over to his soon to be ex-wife. "Happy to see me?"

The throbbing pain in her head intensified from the sudden hard drop and Veronica blinked back the black spots in her vision and focused on the stiff-looking Lynne.

"You're not allowed this close to me," her voice never faltered and Veronica's admiration for the other woman grew a few notches when Aaron kept walking closer, ignoring her statement completely.

"I'm your husband Lynnie – I'm allowed to do whatever I want. And since I paid for this house with money I've earned through my own blood and sweat, you should just keep your mouth shut and be happy I'm back."

Veronica watched the surreal scene unfold in front of her and dug deep inside to find courage she didn't know she had. She struggled to her feet unnoticed while Aaron kept going on about the hard work he had done to provide for his family.

Veronica finally stood firmly on her feet and she interrupted the much larger man in front of her.

"Hey! Is it just me or are you a dramatic kind of fella?" Veronica rolled her eyes and continued when she saw that Aaron's attention was on her again. "I mean, blood and tears? Come Aaron – it's acting, how hard can it be?"

Aaron spluttered and Veronica spotted her chance and turned around to attempt to reach the front door and escape.

She barely managed a few feet before she felt his hand yank her back by her hair and unable to stop herself, Veronica screamed in agony.

"Naughty little girl!" Aaron's voice sounded deadly and he swiftly turned her around and shook her violently. "Do not disobey me!"

Veronica felt like her head was coming off her neck. _Don't show him anything_. The mantra kept repeating itself in her mind until she couldn't absorb anything else.

Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica saw movement and then she heard Lynne's voice – high and mighty in its anger, "Leave her alone, goddammit! She's just a child!"

A second later, Veronica saw a vase crash into Aaron's head and she was once again dropped to the floor.

"You stupid bitch!" Aaron roared and spun around on his feet. Veronica watched in horrified slow-motion how he grabbed his wife around the neck and squeezed. Lynne's eyes rolled and her eyes turned red and her lips blue. With an inhuman growl, Aaron suddenly slammed Lynne hard into the wall and she slid down and landed in a pile on the floor with blood pouring out of her nose and mouth. She didn't move again.

"You killed your wife." Veronica stated and blinked slowly at the sight in front of her.

Aaron breathed heavily and wiped the blood off on his pants. "I can always get another one." He turned back towards Veronica and the smile he sent her sent chills down her spine. "How does it feel that you've caused a murder? If you'd just done as I told you to, Lynnie wouldn't be dead and you most certainly wouldn't have to endure my rage and sorrow about that."

Guilt unlike any other spiraled into Veronica. _I killed her…Why do I always try to interfere? It's like when we had the accident, I should have waited for an ambulance to come and then maybe Duncan wouldn't have been paralyzed. And Logan probably wouldn't have gotten so many internal bleedings…Oh my God, Logan – I helped kill your mom._

The irrational train of thoughts in Veronica's mind was abruptly put on hold when Aaron crouched down and pulled her effortlessly to her feet. "I hope you had a nice day today, because it's going to be your last."

Veronica immediately started to struggle against his hold, but he simply sighed and a moment later his fist connected with her temple for the second time and everything turned black.

**0o0o0**

"We don't have to do this now, you know. I can wait."

Veronica smiled brightly up at him and leaned forward for another kiss. "I wanna do this now – with you. More than anything."

He smiled lovingly and burned her lips with a searing kiss as they slowly fell back on his bed. A second, a minute or it might even have been a lifetime in Veronica's mind; he pulled back and asked quietly, "Are you sure?"

Veronica answered by opening her arms and reaching for him and his face lit up beautifully. When he gently began removing her clothes, Veronica flushed a bit, but smiled encouragingly at him when he hesitated. "I trust you Logan."

Veronica could feel the smile break out on her face when her words caused him to get shiny eyes. _I wonder if he's always this wonderful? Will I still feel like this in fifty years?_

Her breath grew faster when instead of answering verbally his kisses trailed down her neck and found a sensitive spot she hadn't even been aware off. _Oh yeah, definitely!_ Her heart pounded in thrill and satisfaction when his dark hazel eyes gently removed her last piece of clothing and reminded her of his love.

They both breathed out a heavy sigh when they were united for the first time. Veronica didn't even notice the alleged pain of one's first time – too caught up in the feelings her body experienced. And through it all up until the end when they fell over the edge with each other's name on their lips, their eyes never wavered from each others. _I'll never stop feeling like this…_

A splash of ice cold water rolled over her and Veronica flinched out of her memory and gasped when the water didn't seem to stop.

"Aw now that's all better," Aaron's voice sounded from behind her.

To Veronica's confused and pained mind his voice seemed to come from everywhere and she desperately tried to shake off her confusion from the black out and get back to the present.

"Sorry about the cold wake up call, but I seriously doubt it if you'd have liked to be kissed gently awake by me. And between you and me, I'm not calling my son over to witness this. Nah, I got to have _some_ secrets for when we all move back together like one big happy family."

Veronica spit out a mouthful of the cool water and finally realized he was holding a hose to her and that was why it seemed like she was being showered in ice water. After a quick glance around the room, she also noticed that she was in the doorway to the pool house.

"You can't be a happy family anymore Echolls," Veronica forced through her clattering teeth. She hurried to continue before Aaron had a chance to interrupt. "First of all, you killed your wife. Secondly you beat your son within an inch of his life at least once a month and that's not exactly a growing environment for love. Oh and you are a _murderer_!"

To Veronica's fearful surprise Aaron simply leaned his head back and laughed out loud. The sound added a layer of goosebumps on top of those she had because of the water. _He's really truly insane._

"Like I said earlier, I can always get myself another wife. Women throw themselves at me. But blood family is harder to get away from. My son _will_ learn to love me again, because if nothing else I'm a fantastic actor and playing the grieving husband is a part I've played before."

Finally it looked as though the famous actor had grown tired of the hose and he turned the spray of water away from Veronica's shivering form and a moment later he was close behind her and began pushing her fully inside the pool house.

 _Why is he quiet now? I don't like him quiet…_ Veronica's nerves were high strung and she wanted nothing more than to untie herself from her bound position in the chair she was in, but she could barely move and the cold water hadn't exactly helped her with control of her limbs. _I gotta keep him busy. Someone will come for me..._

"What happens now? I know it's not very often a villain gets a chance to explain things in detail, but you said yourself that no one would find us in time. I wanna know, call it a dying wish."

Aaron chuckled and sat down on the made bed in front of her. His face was all but a few inches from hers and Veronica repressed the urge to flinch away from his closeness.

"My mother always taught me to respect a person's dying wish. I'm feeling generous today. So," Aaron clapped his hands together and rubbed them for emphasis with a delighted smile on his face. "You've been nothing but a thorn in my side since that godforsaken accident. I mean, your old man was always poking around trying to pin an assault and abuse charges on me, but never came close to annoying me like you did, and still do actually. If you had just died in that crash, my son wouldn't have developed a mind of his own. He probably wouldn't have fallen for you in the first place. I don't know; I won't pretend to know how his mind works."

Veronica swallowed back some toxic remarks, knowing full well that his talking was keeping her alive just a little longer. "Why are you suddenly Mister homicidal?"

Aaron's eyes glittered and Veronica held her breath. _Did I go too far already?_

"To be honest Veronica, I don't know. I think that the pressure of slowly losing control over my family and then of course the whole Maddie business – whoops, I shouldn't have said that. Ah well, good thing you're about to die."

Veronica frowned. "Maddie? As in Madison Sinclair? Why are…?"

In a terrifying flash Veronica began to connect things that she hadn't even realized could be connected in the first place. Madison's more than usual smugness for the last few weeks of her life, coupled with a few moments of extreme solitude. And then a memory came to a halt, screeching for attention. Veronica blinked slowly and calmly looked back into Aaron Echolls eyes.

"The day I fell in the pool, the day you and Logan got in a fight at the hospital, I was in here arguing with Logan and I noticed the bed wasn't made, but I thought Logan had been sleeping. The thing is I also noticed a perfume smell I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was Madison's – she was in the pool house that day. Having sex with you and you…you wound up killing her while your so called beloved family was at the hospital? What kind of sick, twisted guy are you? She was _seventeen_!"

Aaron's face had twisted into something extremely ugly during Veronica's narration, and at her last words he jumped to his feet and roared, "Shut up! Shut up! She didn't understand! She threatened to tell everybody! To show them the tape I made! She deserved to die!"

For the first time since Aaron had grabbed her from behind and forcibly taken her away from his son's side, Veronica wasn't the least bit afraid. Adrenaline pumped in her every vein and she was relentless like a dog with a bone. "So what? She didn't deserve to go like that! Everyone thinks it was Duncan who killed her! You're the one who deserves to die!"

**Slam!**

Veronica took the punch and fell over with the chair and smashed her head into the carpeted floor. A moment later, Aaron was kicking her in the ribs and muttering threats.

Veronica closed her eyes and let the hurt wash over her. _I can do this – people need to know the truth._

Suddenly, Aaron seized his attack and yanked her upwards again. "I hope that explained things more clearly to you. Now I'm done chatting for today."

Veronica bit her lip hard enough to bleed and watched him silently as he untangled the knots that bound her. She felt frozen and unable to move.

Aaron took advantage of her temporarily loss of fighter instinct and threw her on the bed. "You know, I know you told me I wasn't allowed to touch you, but I just have to see what my son found so interesting about you."

Veronica was staring up at the ceiling fan when she felt his warm, sweaty hand travel inside her jeans and she rediscovered her will to live. "Don't touch me!"

She kicked out and to her intense satisfaction she felt her knee impact on a certain part of his anatomy and he fell off her with a loud grunt of pain.

Veronica stumbled out of the bed and ran back outside – hunting for Logan's car. She ignored the aching pain from her body and pushed herself harder than she'd ever done before.

When she finally reached the yellow car and had stumbled inside it, Veronica realized what her mind had been too distracted to remind her of. She couldn't drive - Already the creeping horror and claustrophobic feeling was growing around her and trying to force her back outside.

Her heart thumbed wildly in her chest and Veronica sobbed desperately in fear when she heard Aaron's terrifying roar of fury from the distance. It was getting closer every second.

"Come on, come on, come _on_!" Veronica yelled and turned the key to bring the vehicle roaring back to life. Her fingers almost cut into the leather of the steering wheel in her eagerness to escape, but even though danger was fast approaching from one side, Veronica couldn't get her body to move.

An idea struck her like a bolt of lightning and Veronica's right hand darted into the glove compartment and she pulled out Logan's secondary cell phone. She dialed the number to his primary one and heard it beep once before being answered.

"Logan, please help me – he's at your house and he killed Madison and-" And then the door opened and Veronica screamed when Aaron's strong arms began pulling her out from her safe spot.

"For such a smart girl," he panted and pulled harder when Veronica refused to let go of the steering wheel, "you're really not that bright. If you'd just locked the damn doors – but lucky for me, I guess."

With one final, rough yank, Veronica's still wet hands couldn't hold on any longer and she was dragged forcibly back towards the pool.

"Please don't! Please, I'll be good, I swear!" Veronica begged for her life, knowing that it was fruitless but she had to try.

Aaron didn't answer, but simply continued dragging her over to the pool. "I don't wanna die, please! I've got too many people in my life, they won't stop hunting you down!"

"That's rich." Aaron's voice was eerily calm as he sank to his knees besides the pool and gripped Veronica's thin shoulders. "You've got a drunk mother, who probably won't notice you're gone as long as Jake Kane keeps bringing her booze and that dead beat dad of yours simply vanished from your life – like the loser he is."

"You don't know anything!" Veronica had a brief surge of righteous anger when her kidnapper mentioned her father. "He'd do anything for me!"

"Well, too bad he's too late to stop this then. You were already living on borrowed time; at least you got a year."

And then Veronica's upper body was under the water. She kicked out with her legs and tried everything in her power to get back up to the surface. _I won't die in this pool – I've got too much to live for!"_

Despite Veronica's best efforts though, she could feel the darkness closing in once more. And unlike the last time she'd experienced it, this time it wasn't gentle and soothing. It was scary and painful and she kept fighting with all she had.

In the distance above the swirling water mass, Veronica heard noises that sounded like gunfire and shouting and the hands holding her down went away. Veronica couldn't find any more strength in her to move and knew that her rescue had come too late.

And a moment later she was pulled up from the water.

"Oh, please be alive!"

Lily's voice was like music to Veronica's ears and she coughed up the water she'd swallowed – trying to speak.

"Oh thank God." The voice was familiar, but unexpected and Veronica looked up from Lily's choking embrace. Duncan looked feverish and was breathing hard – as though he'd struggled to keep up with Lily's much faster pace.

"W-what happened?" Veronica asked dazed and looked behind Lily's trembling shoulder and then she froze. Weevil was kneeling besides an unmoving body and was busy talking in a phone while simultaneously his hands were doing CPR.

Lily followed her gaze and fresh tears fell from her eyes. "I'm so sorry Veronica; we didn't know you were here the whole time. We couldn't find you and I did the only thing I could think of to help…Then they got your call and they were already here when we came…I thought it was under control and Duncan and I found Lynne unconscious on the floor. Then Weevil ran by me and called out and I ran to you. I'm sorry – he wanted to help…"

Veronica's whole world was narrowing down to two things. She was still alive and now quite possibly one of her saviors wasn't. She gently pulled out of Lily's hold and tried to stand up to go over to the frantic Weevil. But her body had been too weak to endure the treatment it had suffered and she fell stumbling to her knees. Undeterred, Veronica crawled on her hands and knees, suddenly desperate to see if her horrifying suspicion was correct.

"Oh God." The words were whispered hoarsely and Veronica's eyes burned hot, but no tears were coming. Weevil didn't acknowledge her – too caught up in his conversation and his CPR.

"…doing it, but it's not working! Ain't you guys here soon?"

In the distance, Veronica heard the blaring ambulance sirens, but she didn't care. All she cared about was the unmoving body in front of her and she gently caressed the unshaven chin.

"You're so stupid you know that…You shouldn't have done that. Please don't do this to me Daddy. _Please_."

Keith Mars didn't answer and Veronica felt like her sanity cracked a bit.

Weevil's desperate voice called her back from the dark. "-gotta go after Logan. He followed his dad when he saw Lily pull you out of the water. I think he was hit too, but I don't know how he's still walking around. I don't know - it all happened so damned fast."

Lily's arms found Veronica again and helped her stand up on wobbling feet.

"Please watch over my dad." Veronica glanced down at Duncan. "You at least owe me that much…The rest of us are gonna go help Logan."

Duncan nodded and just then the ambulance arrived and Weevil was released from his CPR-job.

Weevil stood and looked somberly at Veronica, "I'll call my boys and we'll help look for them."

Veronica gritted her teeth, forcing back the nausea left from the pain. _I just need a little more time before I collapse - just a little more._ She nodded, ignoring the recurring pain in her entire body. "Then let's go."

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I twisted, 'cause how easy Aaron is to write for me? Should I be concerned? lol. Anyways, hope it wasn't too confusing with the dreams and stuff. -And yes, the dreams are memories. Remember LoVe were alone for four-five hours before Aaron showed up...
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading this dramatic mess of mine! :D


	19. Lily

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: LILY  
**

_This can't be happening. This isn't happening. **This. Can. Not. Be. Happening**! Haven't we all suffered enough? Hasn't _ _**she** _ _suffered enough for a lifetime!?_

"Lily?"

Weevil's arm on her lower back startled Lily enough to jump and she gasped out of her chaotic and half numb state of mind.

"I've got to do something – I have to help my friend, I just…"

Weevil nodded and tried to comfort her to the best of his abilities. "I get that, but you also gotta breathe or else it's all gonna be for nothing. Relax and you'll know what to do."

Despite all her fears, Lily couldn't help smiling a bit. "Who died and made you Master Kenobi?"

Before Weevil had a chance to retaliate, Duncan's loud voice interrupted them and they quickly ran into the living room where he and Logan currently were.

"Calm down and let us look at you, for Pete's sake!"

"Get off me, I have to find Veronica. Let go!" Logan was lying on the expensive leather couch with none other than Celeste Kane trying frantically to clean some of his wounds while Duncan was trying to calm his old friend down.

Lily stood frozen and watched her ex-lover struggle frantically against both her mother's and brother's hold on him. Suddenly Jake appeared and after one long glance in her direction, he bent down and held the younger man down with an audible sigh.

 _He's acting crazy. Why aren't I doing the same thing? I love her too…Maybe I'm too worn out by all the drama that's happened today._ Lily stopped her calm thinking when she felt a sob make it way out her mouth. _Oh, here it comes…_

Before she knew how it really happened Lily was on the floor with tears streaming down her face – ignoring everyone else in her own grief. Weevil's arms no longer felt comforting around her and she shivered. All she could see in front of her was Veronica's fragile body, bleeding and hurt. And those big blue eyes were widened in never ending horror.

"Shh – we're gonna get her back," a familiar voice eventually got through the maze of fear and sorrow and Lily desperately clung to it so she could escape her dark thoughts.

She blinked and met Logan's eyes. He looked a lot calmer than he'd a minute ago and Lily swallowed down her sudden guilt. "I'm sorry Logan; you shouldn't have to comfort me…"

Logan's eyes looked more dead than she'd ever seen them, but his voice was soothing and caring when he spoke. "You love her too. We'll get her back; we just need to put our heads together. You're the smart one Lils – let's work something out, use our detective skills."

_Detective skills? Detective!_

Lily tore herself out of Logan's embrace with a start and backed into a silent Weevil with wide eager – almost desperate looking - eyes. "That's it!"

Lily exited the house a few seconds later, not caring one bit about her bloodied clothes or wild hair, or the running mascara. No, she only cared about one thing and that was getting her friend back to safety.

_And the way to do that is to bring in the best detective in Neptune!_

Lily jumped into her car and had already started the car and driven a few feet when the passenger door suddenly opened and Weevil climbed in. "You ain't leaving without me," was all he said and Lily couldn't help but feel grateful for his show of support.

"Thanks," she muttered and then gassed up the car and drove out of the Kane's driveway with squealing tires.

Lily drove faster than she'd ever driven before. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed how pale her boy looked all of the sudden. But he never said a word and she just kept speeding. _He's probably worried sick about Veronica too, they were becoming great friends_. _Are!_ Lily corrected herself sternly and clenched her hands on the steering wheel, _are becoming great friends!_

It didn't take Lily long to reach her goal and she barely took the time to stop the car before she was out of it and running in to the big, worn looking building where Keith Mars had set up shop after he'd stopped being sheriff.

She burst through the doors and was met with Wallace's widened eyes in the reception area. "Whoa there girly girl – what put fire up your fine behi…" He trailed off immediately the moment Weevil entered behind her and if it hadn't been because of Veronica's current situation, Lily would totally have snapped a picture of his face with her cell phone for mocking rights later.

"I need to talk to Mr. Mars, right now!"

Wallace scratched his nose and got up from behind his desk, eying the scowling Weevil beside her with a nervous glint in his eyes. "Uhm, he's kindda in the middle of a client meeting and can't be disturbed right now, but I'll tell him - LILY!"

Lily completely ignored her friend's outburst and kept walking over to Keith's closed office door and she opened it a moment later with no regard for the meeting what so ever. _And I'm betting Mr. Mars' anger will vaporize the moment he hears what I got to say._

"Lily?! What? I'm in a meeting right now and would prefer not to be disturbed." Keith's eyes trailed behind her and Lily could almost hear Wallace's gulp.

"I'm aware of that Mr. Mars, but I really need your help. _Please_."

In that moment it seemed as though Keith registered her attire for the first time. And her swollen eyes that told its own story about having cried violently recently.

He turned to his customer, a young man with twitchy eyes and an uncomfortable look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, talk to my assistant and he'll reschedule our meeting."

The moment the other male exited the office, Lily turned back to Veronica's dad and blurted out everything, "Veronica got kidnapped by Logan's dad and he ran over Logan and Logan said he looked like he was gonna harm her. And we can't find her."

Before her eyes Keith Mars transformed from a casual looking, goofy guy with a calm look in his eyes to a deadly viper. His eyes hardened the instant he learned about his only child's danger and Lily finally realized why Weevil always spoke so respectfully about the not so large man in front of her.

"When, where and how? I need all the details." Keith bent down and took out a gun from his desk drawer and began walking towards the door. "Wallace you'll cancel all my appointments for today. Come on Lily."

Lily nodded, half in awe over the take charge attitude the older man suddenly displayed. _This is the same guy that couldn't give Veronica the sex talk without stuttering_. Lily smiled sadly at the memory and then sighed in relief when Keith hollered for her to keep up. _Finally I can step down a bit and let someone else share the burden for now…_

When Lily got out to the car, Keith was already sitting in the driver's seat. He had rolled down the window and was leaning out of it to talk to Weevil. "…your biker friends to search. They can get into places I can't. See if they've heard anything. If they spot him make sure they don't interfere, but that they contact me. Not the police, Don couldn't find a grain of sand in the desert. Got it?"

Weevil nodded seriously and quickly placed a short peck on Lily's cheek and disappeared down the street where she knew one of his fellow PCH'er was living.

Lily got into her car and handed the former sheriff her keys and he nodded his thanks mutely and drove towards the Kane mansion. They spent the next few minutes in complete silence – each caught up in their own misery and anxiety.

Lily finally remembered that she had to tell him about Jake being married to Lianne, but after one look at his face, Lily knew now wasn't the right time. _I'll let him know when Veronica is back in his arms._

"Do you have any idea where Aaron might take my daughter?"

Lily jumped and smiled sheepishly when Keith glanced over at her. "Uhm no. To tell you the truth I haven't really socialized with him since he started ogling my boobs during freshman year. So I don't know his ways. We could ask Logan, but I doubt he's very levelheaded right now and that only leaves Lynne."

Keith nodded. "Yeah, I thought so. I'll call her and tell her to keep a lookout and-"

"Don't bother, remember that they aren't together anymore? She hasn't seen or heard from him in a while. At least that's what Logan told me yesterday." _Yesterday when his world hadn't collapsed and he was happier than I've seen in ages..._

Keith nodded again and sighed as he shifted gear. "Yeah, you're probably right. But if Eli fails in his search around town, I think we should call her and warn her to keep an eye out."

Lily agreed and was about to suggest the school of all places as a possible location, when Keith suddenly cursed softly and slapped his forehead.

"Please tell me that one of you has informed Lianne about all of this."

Lily bit her lip. "Err…not exactly. She's not the most popular person in my house – especially after today."

Keith frowned curiously, but then shrugged. "I need you to call her. I'm not allowed to contact her _under any circumstances_." The last few words were spoken in a severe bitter tone of voice and Lily – knowing what she did even without the bigamy – could easily understand.

"I'll get right on that. But I think it's too big for telling her over the phone, so would you mind dropping me off by her house and wait while I tell her – maybe she even wants to help."

Keith agreed and began driving towards his ex-wife's residence. As he pulled up in front of the building, he turned to Lily with a serious look on his face. "If it takes more than five minutes, I'm coming in after you. We can't afford to waste any more time looking for Veronica."

Lily smiled briefly and quickly exited the car and walked up to the front door and knocked.

She heard shuffling and muffled sounds from behind the door and after a few moments Lily's patience couldn't take any more abuse and she simply grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

And then she stopped right in the doorway with raised eyebrows at the pathetic sight in front of her.

Lianne Mars was halfway out of her couch with her crumbled bathrobe twisted around her and showing Lily way more than she was comfortable with seeing. _Way more!_ There was a half empty vodka bottle in her hand and the other hand was holding a remote control, pointing at the TV, which was showing nothing but white noise.

 _She looks like she's been partying for days;_ Lily thought and slowly stepped over the doorstep.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked and crouched down in front of the clearly intoxicated female in front of her.

Lianne's eyes lit up goofily and she smiled stupidly and gestured with the vodka bottle. "Lily Kane, welcome honey. I hope you're in a good mood. Veronica isn't home today." Lianne's face fell apart with an ugly twist of her once pretty features, "She's never home with me anymore. I'm her mommy. Lily, tell her she's not allowed outside anymore…I'm her mommy. She should be with me."

Lily rolled her eyes, but tried to stop her temper from rising. "I need you to drink some coffee while I talk to you."

Lianne giggled childishly and shook her head. "Don't want to missy. Go away."

"It's important!" Lily all but yelled as she wrestled the alcohol out of the hand of a surprisingly strong woman. "It's about Veronica!"

Lianne began sobbing dramatically. "That's all anyone ever cares about. Nobody ever cares about _me_ – except for Jakey. He's mine…Why couldn't she be his? Why?"

Finally Lily snapped and before she even realized what she was doing, she had slapped Lianne hard across the face. "Get a grip woman. Your only child is in danger for Christ's sake!"

Lianne stared at her with shocked eyes for a long moment, but then she broke down into incoherent babbling and Lily released her with a disgusted sigh. "I can't believe Veronica came out of you…"

Suddenly Lily saw Keith out of the corner of his eye. He was staring down at his former wife with contempt. And barely restrained rage. "She's totally out of it," Lily explained after a few long seconds of icy silence.

"We don't have time for this. Veronica could be in pain right now." Keith suddenly growled and in the next moment he bent down and unceremoniously began dragging a now shrieking Lianne towards the bathroom. "Go out and turn on the shower – use cold water."

Lily hurried to do as demanded and she stepped over to the wall and watched as Keith roughly took hold of Lianne's shoulders and abruptly held her under the cold ray of water without an inch of his usual mercy in his eyes. "You've caused us all so much misery Lianne – I won't stand for it any more. I don't care if you get Jake's assassin to kill me, I will not leave Veronica in your clutches a single minute longer! You're so pathetic."

Lily gasped. Finally the final piece of the puzzle fell into place and she now understood why Veronica had never really objected to living under her mother's roof. The look of disgust she sent to a now screaming furiously Lianne was ten times worse than the one she'd given in the living room. _Like hell I'm gonna keep my discoveries from him anymore. He needs to know the whole story."_

"Keith?"

"What?!"

Keith didn't lessen his hold on the struggling drunk one bit and Lily quickly continued. "You don't have to worry about gaining your custody back on V. I just discovered that my oh so law abiding daddy was married to Lianne at the same time you were. So use the bigamy card and not even Jake's billions will buy off the judge this time."

Keith paled in front of her and for a second Lily feared that he was having a heart attack, but then he simply released Lianne from his hands and turned back towards Lily. "Thank you."

Lily nodded and Keith stood up from the shower and grabbed a towel and dried his face as he went out the door without once acknowledging the crying female he'd once loved. Lily however wasn't about to let the opportunity pass her by.

She walked over to Lianne and stood frozen until the older woman met her eyes. Lianne flinched as though the harshness in Lily's eyes was painful and Lily smirked. "Now listen to me, you stupid bitch – When you get out of this shower, you're gonna go downstairs and throw out every little bottle of alcohol you have stowed away. You'll erase my father's number and forget he ever existed. You will not object to Veronica leaving you for her father. And should you try despite this little wake up call, I will make your life a living hell for the next twenty years. It'll make this last year look like a freaking holiday. Got that?"

Lianne slowly nodded and Lily returned the nod and turned to leave. Just before she left the bathroom, she turned back and said in mock casualness. "Oh, and I thought you ought to know that at this very moment Aaron Echolls has kidnapped your only child and none of us can find her. She might be dead and her last memory of her mom is of a drunken skank slobbering all over a man she has no rights to. Enjoy the rest of your life…"

Lily didn't look how her parting words were received, she simply closed the bathroom door silently behind her and went back out to her car and Keith started the engine and drove them over to the Kane mansion.

About an hour later Lily sat next to her father of all people and watched Keith organize a town wide search for Aaron Echolls. Without once involving the inept police department, the detective managed to pull people together more efficiently than she'd ever seen. _He really was the best thing Neptune Sheriff Department had to offer_ , Lily decided and then she was torn out of her silent observations when she felt a warm cup being placed in her hands.

She looked up and met Logan's bloodshot eyes. "Thanks." She said and took a sip of the warm beverage.

Logan gave a ghost of his usual smirk and turned back to Keith's planning.

Lily sighed. _He's been so eerily calm ever since I broke down earlier. It can't be healthy for him to bottle everything up like that_. For one small second the image of Logan's remorseless eyes when he'd stated that he wanted to kill his father entered Lily's memory and she shuddered briefly.

"Do you want a sweater?" Jake's voice was extremely timid and Lily glanced at him.

"Please don't talk to me right now Jake," her tone of voice was as cold as Keith's had been to Lianne and Jake flinched in much the same way as the alcoholic had done, "I can't even look at you without wanting to hurt you." _Or neuter you..._

Jake nodded and Lily watched him dispassionately as he slipped out of the living room without another word. He only paused to stare at Duncan, whose eyes were colder than Lily's. Oddly enough she felt a fleeting stab of guilt for talking to her father like that, but then it vanished as she remembered how much pain he'd put her best friend through.

Duncan looked over at her and smiled hesitantly. Lily returned the smile. _Maybe we might just be able to salvage our relationship. I hope so, I've missed him. But I can't focus on that before Veronica is safe again_.

Everyone in the room paused when the door opened and Weevil walked in. He looked surprisingly dejected and Lily immediately got to her feet. "Did you find her?"

He shook his head and Lily felt a rising need to cry again, but she pushed it back and listened to his next words. He was looking somberly over at a stony faced Keith and Logan.

"I couldn't get a hold of any of my boys, except Hector and he's not in town right now. I'll try again later. I took a sweep of the city for myself, but I didn't spot anything. I'm sorry man."

Lily looked over at Logan, afraid that this would be the news that would make him explode, but to her – and everyone else's – surprise it was Keith Mars that snapped. "Damn it! I'm supposed to be able to find anybody and I can't even locate my own kid."

Lily was about to comfort him when Logan placed his hand on the father's trembling shoulder. "We're gonna find her. I know it."

"How can you be so sure?" The words left Lily's lips before she knew she was going to say them.

Logan met her eyes, still looking almost creepy in his calmness. "Because I'd know if something had happened to her."

Lily shook her head, but wasn't entirely sure if it was in denial or actually agreement.

Keith took a deep breath and once again became the strong man they all respected. His momentary weakness put behind him. "I think we better call your mother Logan and then w-"

A sudden shrill sound of a ringing cell phone interrupted him and they all turned to look at Logan, who slowly took out his phone.

Lily watched carefully as he frowned when he looked at the display before answering. Then she stared in growing fear as his calm façade shattered into a million pieces. His face turned white and his free hand clenched into a fist. His horrified eyes sought out Lily and she knew that Veronica had somehow gotten away from her attacker _. Maybe it'll all be okay now…_

Then she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood when Logan suddenly closed his eyes and moaned softly before he slowly closed the cell and dropped it on the carpet. "She's back at my place. She's in danger!"

Lily felt like she'd only blinked once before both Logan and Keith were missing from the spot in front of her. In the back of her mind she heard the roaring of an engine and logically she knew they had left to help Veronica, but she just couldn't move at that moment.

"Lily? Baby?" Weevil's voice drew her out of her scared state of mind and in a violent rush all her courage and determination flooded back to her.

"Do you have your bike here?"

Weevil nodded and seeming to read her mind, he grabbed her hand and led her out to it and handed her his helmet. A few seconds later they followed the two men in Veronica's life.

 _Hang on Ronnie, we're coming_. Lily thought out to her friend and leaned her cheek on Weevil's leather clad bag.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted their limo driving up next to them and to her shock she saw Duncan through the half open car window. "Didn't think I'd let you have all the fun?" was all he yelled at her before the car passed them entirely.

Lily grinned. A _t least the Fab. 4 can agree on one thing for a change - Veronica's life gotta be saved._

When they arrived at the mansion, the confused looking private chauffeur was busy unloading Duncan from the limo. Lily jumped off the bike before Weevil had stopped it and ran towards the open doors with her heart beating in her chest. She'd already noticed her own car being parked dangerously close to the big house with both doors open as though Keith and Logan had been too busy to care about closing them. And they probably were, a rational part of Lily's mind pointed out as she ran through the doors at full speed.

A second later she froze in shock as her eyes landed on Lynne Echolls' unmoving form over by the wall. Then Weevil, who'd been running like her, bumped into her from behind and Lily tumbled to her knees. She didn't register the pain as she landed on the hard floor. She was half aware that Weevil began walking towards the living room in search of Logan and Keith.

The push had jumpstarted her body towards Lynne, allowing her boyfriend to search for her best friend for now. The blood ran from the famous female's nose and mouth and Lily swallowed an undignified whimper of fear.

"Please don't be dead."

Duncan's loud gasp told her that he had finally caught up to them and she vaguely heard him yell out to the driver to call 911.

Lily reached out and put her shaking finger on Lynne's neck and a few seconds later she exhaled in relief. "She's got a pulse," she informed Duncan.

Duncan wheeled over to her and was about to say something when their attention flew to Weevil. He suddenly cursed from the doorway and disappeared just as several gunshots were heard.

"LILY!"

Lily left the unconscious Lynne to her brother and ran to Weevil. As she ran through the big living room out to the pool area, Lily was somehow sure that she wouldn't like what she was about to see.

As she scanned the area and saw what had happened Lily wanted nothing more than fall apart again, but then she realized Weevil was yelling at her while he was kneeling down next to a bleeding Keith on the ground. "…in the water – I can't leave him. Hurry!"

Lily followed Weevil's eyes and then her body moved faster than she ever thought it capable of.

It was the most horrifying thing she'd ever seen. Veronica's lower body was lying by the pool while her upper half was fully submerged in the water. And she wasn't moving.

Lily had grabbed the smaller girl a second later, with her heart pounding in her chest. "Oh please be alive!"

For one agonizing long moment Veronica didn't move or respond, but then she suddenly coughed and harked and the disgusting sound was the most beautiful thing to Lily's ears and she immediately embraced her friend with all her strength.

Behind her she heard Duncan's out of breath exclamation of relief.

"W-what happened?" Veronica asked hoarsely as she looked behind Lily's trembling shoulder. Lily felt her freeze completely in her arms and Lily remembered what her mind had repressed as she was busy saving her friend's life. _If he dies, Veronica will never forgive herself and it won't matter to her that she survived…_

Lily felt the burning sting of new tears as she tried to explain what had happened – knowing that it was her fault that Keith was injured. _I got him involved in this._ She ignored the rational voice that tried to point out that the man would have moved heaven and earth for his child and it wasn't her fault. To Lily it was.

"I'm so sorry Veronica; we didn't know you were here the whole time. We couldn't find you and I did the only thing I could think off to help…They got your call and they were already here when we came…I thought it was under control and Duncan and I found Lynne unconscious on the floor. Then Weevil ran by me and called out and I ran to you. I'm sorry – he wanted to help…"

Lily felt Veronica begin to pull out of her arms and immediately let go. Standing next to Duncan, they watched the tiny, obviously injured girl crawl to her father's side.

Lily didn't know what to do. Huge, unexplainable, and completely illogical guilt was clawing inside of her and she wanted nothing more than run away. Afraid of the moment when Veronica would turn on her with hate in her eyes and blame her.

Suddenly she felt a warm hand grab hers and Lily looked down at Duncan with a startled flinch. He looked a lot more mature than he'd done even the day before and Lily couldn't say anything when he squeezed her hand gently and said seriously, "It's not your fault. I know her well enough to know that the thought hasn't even crossed her mind…Go over to her, she'll need you more than ever now."

Full of new determination Lily smiled her thanks to her little brother and walked over to Veronica and helped her stand just as she heard the paramedics run into the house.

Lily looked down and then she just couldn't tear her eyes away from Keith's bleeding body and looked on quietly as the professionals took over Weevil's CPR, an oasis of calm in the midst of fullblown chaos. Lily admired them more than anything in that moment. _If everything works out I swear I'll become a doctor and help people…_

Suddenly Lily was reminded of the fact that not all was done just because Veronica had been saved. Logan was still out there and according to Weevil he might just be hurt as well. _And Aaron will definitely be hurt worse when the day's over_ , Lily thought grimly as she watched Veronica push back her pain and turn focused. _If not by Logan himself then I bet Veronica has a few things she'd like to do to him..._

Lily clenched her jaw and kept her arm secure around Veronica's small waist as they made their way through the house to the cars to try and pick up Logan and Aaron's trail. _And if neither of them manages to get to him, I'll probably kill the bastard myself. Slowly and inch by inch…_

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**

 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're slowly reaching the end for this story. I know this chapter was perhaps a tad repetetive, but I needed to let the whole Lianne story line finish too. She too needed some tough love like Jakey boy. Next time will be more action based as we finally see how badly injured Logan is, and who (or if at all) manages to make Aaron Echolls pay for his crimes..


	20. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're drawing close to the end---Just a reminder, I'm aware this chapter in particular is unrealistic, but I'm using the "adrenaline-can-make-you-move-mountains" card.   
> Enjoy!!

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: LOGAN  
**

" _Logan, please help me – he's at your house and he killed Madison and…"_

Logan could feel his numbness slowly disappear at the first sound of her voice. The unusual high pitched tone cracked his defenses and he wanted nothing more than reach through the phone and take her away from the danger. _The danger that raised me of all things..._

He glanced briefly down into Lily's equally as terrified eyes while Veronica's frightened sounding voice still rang in his ear, screaming out the fact that his own father was doing this to her. Then he began moving without really processing it fully and he was outside a few seconds later. He quickly spotted Lily's car and got inside, knowing she'd left the keys inside earlier.

Throughout it all he could feel Keith Mars' presence behind him. As he turned the key in the ignition, Logan said calmly, "Aaron is mine."

Keith actually growled with a feral glint in his normally so friendly eyes. "We'll see who catches him first."

Logan grinned evilly and drove out of the driveway – speeding towards his own parody of a home.

The two men didn't speak during the fast ride. Logan swallowed his rising nerves and concentrated on his raw hatred for Aaron Echolls. _Before this day is over, I'll probably have killed my own father…_

The mental image of Veronica's scared eyes on his as she was forced away from him brought Logan's nerves down and his anger turned calm and deadly. _And I'm gonna enjoy every second of it!_

A short time later they arrived at the Echolls mansion and Keith propelled out of the car faster than Logan thought was possible.

Logan followed almost just as fast, but the moment he got through the front door, his eyes zeroed in on his mother's unmoving form. A huge part of him, the one who wanted to go hide behind his mom until the pain disappeared, wanted to go over and see if she was breathing.

He was catapulted out of his momentary indecision when Keith's voice sounded loud and frantic from the terrace.

"Aaron let her go!"

The words cut into Logan like a knife and he quickly ran past his mother – desperate to find his lover if not well then at least alive.

Just as he exited the glass doors to the pool area, Keith reached down and drew out a hidden gun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at the crouching actor, whom Logan's eyes immediately sought out with a gasp.

"Let her go or I swear to God I'm pulling the trigger!" Keith's voice was without hesitation and his hand didn't waver an inch as it continued to point at Aaron. Logan still thought he took too long though. The sight of Veronica's struggle was horrible to watch.

Logan didn't bother to wait for his father's no doubt mocking response – the only thing he cared about in that moment was under water and the jerking movements of her body were slowing down rapidly.

"Wait!" He yelled and pushed past the furious father and ran towards his own crazy parent. _Please hang on a little longer baby!_

He slammed into the older man a second later and when the other body stumbled backwards and let go of Veronica's head, Logan immediately turned around to pull his lover out of the water, but just as he was touching her shoe, Aaron's shadow fell over them and tore him away with a roar of fury. "Stop right now, son!"

Logan desperately tried to push him away – obsessed with getting to Veronica in time. "Get the fuck off me!"

"Leave her!" Aaron screamed in reply and pushed Logan's head hard into the tiled ground.

Logan blinked dazedly as he struggled to his knees and tried with all his might to push the dizziness and nausea away long enough for him to reach Veronica. _Please hang on Veronica, please_ …

When he felt the edges of his vision return to a somewhat normal level, Logan took one crawling step towards the pool. An expensive boot stepped onto his left hand with a sickening crunch and Logan repressed a groan of pain and looked up at his sire with hate burning in his eyes.

Aaron wasn't looking at him, his sight was now trained on Keith, but he was aiming a gun at Logan's temple and another one was pointed steadily over at Keith. "I will kill you Keith, make no mistakes about it."

"I don't care as long as my daughter is gonna walk away from this – from _you_ , you son of a bitch!"

Aaron chuckled maniacally at Keith's bravado and Logan wanted to kill him all over again. Then all his thoughts of revenge turned to grueling despair, matched by Keith, when Aaron gestured to the pool and the now unmoving lower half of Veronica. "Doesn't seem like that's gonna happen Mars."

Logan watched in his dizzy state as Keith paled and instantly took off, trying to reach his drowning child.

Logan's vision turned into slow-motion mode when Aaron's face twisted with a terrible smug smile as though this was what he'd been waiting for and fired his weapon once just as Keith was getting closer to his goal.

Keith's body slammed backwards when the projectile entered his body and landed on his back a few feet away from Logan. Logan watched Keith's body jerk as though he still tried to get it to reach his child despite his injuries. Logan could see the blood begin to darken the older man's shirt and he briefly closed his eyes in a silent prayer. _He's a good man, please let him survive this._

"Whoops." Aaron's voice was full of mockery and Logan's numbed rage began to stir again. Aaron aimed his weapon at the dying Keith and Logan took a final decision. _He's toying with a dead man. Veronica is already dead – who knows with mom. He has to pay; I can't let him get away with this!_

Logan jumped to his feet and lunged at his murdering psycho of a father. He heard the bang when Aaron fired at him, but felt nothing when the bullet entered his body _. Thank God for adrenaline._

His fist rammed into Aaron's chuckling face a second later and before long he had wrestled one of the guns out of his hands. Aaron kicked out with his leg and pushed Logan away. Before long the father and son stood pointing their weapon in the other's face.

Logan smirked coldly. "Looks like we're at a stalemate. Any last words?" _I will kill you, you son of a bitch! You killed Veronica!_

"Don't make me kill you son." Aaron pleaded softly – at the moment full of fatherly concern. For one split second – a second that scared Logan more than anything, he looked entirely sane. _He really is absolutely insane, how did we not know this?_

Logan didn't hesitate any longer; he raised his hand and fired without another word. Unfortunately for him, Aaron had already begun moving and the bullet barely grazed his shoulder.

Logan cursed loudly and out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Fresh and painful despair welled up in him when he saw Lily running towards the pool with a frantic look in her eyes. _Please take good care of her body while I hunt **him** down and make him pay for this._

Logan sent out one last longing thought to his murdered girlfriend – his soul mate if such a thing was even possible - hoping that somehow she'd hear his wish and help him grant it _. I'll find you when all this is over with baby. We didn't get enough time..."_

After the thought left him, Logan took a deep breath and followed his father away from the house of horrors and burning grief.

Logan finally caught up with his father at the parking lot to the Camelot motel of all places. Once again, he'd borrowed Lily's car and driven after Aaron, who was still driving Logan's x-terra.

It was halfway there, weaving haphazardly in and out of the traffic that Logan first began to feel the effect of his gunshot wound. He glanced down when a twinge of fiery pain made itself known in his abdomen and he noticed the blood and cursed loudly. _If this stops me from taking revenge, I'm gonna be really pissed._

He pushed past the growing agony and exited the car with his gun firmly in hand and watched as Aaron got out of the vehicle too.

"Son," Aaron's voice oozed fatherly love and Logan repressed a sudden urge to gag. "This whole thing has grown way out of proportions and I don't know how to make things all right again."

Logan smirked. "How about stop killing the people that I love." The memory of Veronica's unmoving body pressed into him again and he swallowed down his grief. _I just have this to deal with before I can relax._ Somehow Logan just knew he wouldn't survive this day and wanted to honor his loved ones by hurting the one, who'd hurt them. _And then I can be with Veronica again._

A moment later, Aaron stopped moving. He was halfway through the parking lot and Logan copied his movement without showing any of his emotions on his face or in his stance. "I only ever wanted what was best for you Logan. Come with me and we'll work this through somehow. It can be done."

Logan laughed, but didn't take his eyes off the weapon in his father's hand. "Like I'm not gonna wind up dead the moment I let go of this gun? Fortunately for me I inherited my mother's intelligence, not yours."

Aaron's eyes darkened dangerously and his tone of voice turned colder. "Do not disrespect your father, Logan. Despite all of this I'm still your father."

Logan rolled his eyes and took the safety of the gun and lifted his arm. "You don't know what that word means. Keith Mars is the embodiment of fatherhood. You're not. I know you killed Madison Sinclair and you need to pay for that too. I should probably hand you over to the cops, so her family can get some kind of closure and Duncan can get off the most wanted list, but I can't. I just can't."

Logan cleared his throat and continued past the clenching heartbreak in his chest. "By killing Veronica – the girl I love more than anything, you deserve to die. She deserves revenge for that treatment…So help me God I'm gonna make you pay."

Aaron didn't look fazed at all as though Logan's statement didn't matter to him. He straightened up with a vicious smirk on his lips. "Before you go ahead and do that Sonny Boy, I just have to point out that you don't look so well. Why don't you go to a hospital and we'll meet up later when you're more yourself."

Logan laughed again and he didn't care that the movements in his body caused jolts of agony to retighten from his belly. "I'm more myself now than I've ever been Aaron. Thanks for the fatherly concern, but I'll handle this until you're dead. Don't worry about me, worry about yourself."

"I can't believe you're letting such a little bitch come between us, son. Like I said to her earlier, before I…you know, drowned her sorry excuse for an ass, she must really be good in the sack considering all the emotions she's getting out of you."

Logan's anger exploded and he quivered in his effort to hold it in. "Don't talk like that about her."

Aaron laughed mockingly. "Oh right, like she's gonna come screw me over for killing her."

Logan watched his father laugh for a few long moments before he simply said, "No, she's not, but I am."

A second later, the parking lot echoed with a loud bang and Aaron Echolls' laugh abruptly turned into a searing scream of pain.

Logan looked on in satisfied silence as his father's knees gave out from under him and he fell to the pavement with both his hands locked onto his injury. Aaron's screams were music to his ears.

"Now you can't fuck up anymore lives." was all Logan said before his own body finally succumbed to his own wound. He copied his father's slow descent to the ground and placed himself on his back with his eyes firmly locked on Aaron's writhing and moaning form. "I'll finish you up in a minute, I just need a breather."

The crazed actor didn't reply in his usual mocking form, he was too caught up in the painful fact that his son had just shot him in the groin.

Sometime later Logan snapped out of his increasingly dizzy mind and slowly struggled back up to his feet. He thought he heard a lot of roaring engines in the background, but he just couldn't look away from Aaron's bleeding form _. Maybe I should let him live through life without his pride and joy – that would be an unusual cruel punishment…But no_ , Logan's bloodthirsty part quickly added, _he killed Veronica, he doesn't deserve to live._

Finally Logan managed to get a somewhat steady balance and he wobbled the last few steps over to his father and listened emotionlessly to Aaron's moaned pleas for help. "I'm gonna enjoy this far more than I should – In fact it's almost indecent how much I'm gonna enjoy ending your life. See you in Hell dad."

" **Logan don't**!"

The words registered as through a black fog and Logan slowly turned away from his intended victim and locked eyes with Veronica.

"You're supposed to be dead." It was the only rational words that left his mouth and Logan shook his head at himself _. Maybe I've let my wound bleed for too long and I'm hallucinating. It's not a bad thing – at least she's still alive in my mind…_

"…worth it! You'll go to jail too and I can't be without you anymore."

Logan blinked and tried to focus his increasingly bad vision onto his hallucination. "Only you would be nagging me in my imagination. Ronnie, please just be quiet while I handle this."

Veronica sighed and Logan was a bit surprised about the realism of his vision when he felt her hot breath touch his face as she exhaled. "It's not a dream Logan, I'm really here. Lily and Weevil called Lamb and he's supposed to be on his way…Please let me look at you, you're bleeding all over the place."

"No." Logan shook his head. "I'm not bleeding a lot anymore. He is." Logan waved his gun in Aaron's direction and continued, "I should put him out of his misery like a sick animal."

Aaron's moaning got louder when he said that and Veronica stepped over to Logan with a pained grimace on her tired looking face. Again Logan couldn't quite believe how unromantic his hallucination of his murdered lover was. _At least she shouldn't look like she's in pain. She should look like she did after we made love. Happy and glowing. Come on stupid mind, work with me here…_

"Logan, the police will get him and judging from that wound he's so fiercely cradling, he's gonna be suffering the perfect punishment until he dies. Please let me drive you to the hospital, we need to check your injuries…"

Logan shook his head frowning at his vision's choked up tone of voice. "Don't be sad Veronica. Just let me handle this and then I can concentrate better…Besides," he felt inclined to add, "you can't drive cars anymore, so it wouldn't actually be you doing the driving and I can't drive right now - I've been shot you know."

The annoying darkness was creeping back into him as he spoke and Logan shook his head violently again. His irritation at his weird vision Veronica grew when she seemed to frown in annoyance. "Why can't you just let me do this?"

Veronica took a step closer. Sincerity shone out of her bright blue eyes and Logan fought off his mesmerized feelings at the vivid close up. "I can't take anymore of this drama Logan. Let your dad be taken off by the authorities. Please put down your gun."

Logan looked at her hand, which was slowly making its way to his to remove his weapon and his anger spiked suddenly. He stepped away from her and snarled, "Why can't you understand that I need to see him pay for what he did to you? To Keith and my mom, hell even to Madison and God knows who else?"

He swung his free arm out and pushed Veronica away from him. Hoping that by touching her, the image would fade and he could refocus on his vengeance, but to his shocked surprise his hand actually made contact and for the first time Logan began to reclaim some of his sanity. He watched in horror as the small body stumbled backwards and fell to the ground with a small cry of pain.

Suddenly, Lily was next to the supposed illusion and was helping her up. "Just relax Ronnie, I got you."

"I'm fine Lily, just a bit woozy; it'll be fine in a sec."

Logan groaned when he finally took in the fact that Veronica was in fact alive in front of him. _And I hurt her_ … "Oh God, Ronnie." The words left his mouth in a sigh of sadness and profound relief all rolled into one.

Veronica let go of Lily's hands at the sound of his guilty voice and smiled with exhaustion shining in her eyes. "Are you ready to trust me on my whole being alive statement now?"

Logan smiled slowly and took a step towards her and he stood immobile for a long second before he raised his free hand and gently caressed her cheek. Now his confused mind slowly realized that she looked terrible. Dried blood and dirt and grime were prominent on her face and her eyes looked exhausted. And yet at the same time she'd never looked more beautiful to him and unable to control himself, Logan enveloped her in a tight hug. "Oh thank God you're alive."

In the next second he hissed as fresh blood ripped through his gunshot wound and reluctantly he stepped back with a slight wobble. Veronica's eyes widened as they took in the sight of him before her and she quickly turned to Lily, who stood guard over Aaron.

"Lily, did you call 911? He's looking really bad."

"Thanks babe," Logan smirked and walked determinedly over to his now almost unconscious father and his ex-girlfriend. The look Lily sent Aaron would have made him run and hide, had he been more aware of his surroundings.

Weevil appeared a moment later next to Lily and sent a tired, but friendlier than usual look at Logan, who returned the favor. "you don't look so hot, dog. There's an ambulance on its way as we speak."

"I don't need that right now. Veronica looks worse than I do," Logan said and turned his attention back on his thankfully still alive girlfriend. Nothing but her seemed to matter to him now.

Veronica shook her head with the exhaustion still written in her every feature. "you sure know how to sweettalk the ladies, don't you?"

"It's what I do."

The group of friends' banter was suddenly interrupted by a complete stranger's voice. "You kid's step back now or this is gonna get ugly."

A few feet away from Weevil, Lily and Aaron stood a big, burly guy, who looked more drunk than not. He wore a smudged badge on his T-shirt that informed them that he was the manager of the motel. Logan didn't really notice his appearance all that much after that first glance, all his attention was on the riffle in the guy's trembling hands.

Aaron added to the sudden tension by using some of his rarely tapped into acting skills. "Help me sir, these kids are out of their minds – they're gonna kill me. Help me, please!"

"Oh come on," Veronica's exclamation sounded unnaturally loud in the silence following Aaron's plea. "Don't believe him for one second, he's a crazy murderer, who's shot his own son. Look at him!"

Veronica pointed at Logan, whose eyes never left the riffle. "Veronica, it's okay. The cops are gonna be here soon and this mess will all be straightened out then. Don't worry about it."

Logan wanted desperately to calm down Veronica. She looked ready to burst, as though the stranger's misjudgment was the final straw for her on a long and horrific day. He was so caught up in trying to calm down the shaking and hurt blonde that he totally missed the fact that another blonde was just as ready to snap.

"Hey retard!" Lily's voice was crystal clear and cold as ice. "Why don't you crawl back into the hole you came from and leave this to the people it really concerns."

The big burly guy straightened up and Logan wanted to roll his eyes at the whole mess that just kept getting worse and worse. "I'm only doing my civic duty girly! I was minding my own business in the reception when I saw that crazy kid shoot that guy in the family jewels. He's obviously a lunatic."

"You're obviously a lunatic, now go away!" Lily practically screamed the insults at the wanna be helper and it didn't exactly help matters.

Logan felt a rush of much needed adrenaline enter his body. Out of the corner of his eye he was aware that Veronica seemed to get her own rush of energy and that Weevil was scowling threateningly at the stranger for pointing his weapon at a still yelling Lily.

"Hey doofus – point that on someone your own size! If you can find anyone big enough!"

The man sneered and roared at her that he'd point it wherever he damn well felt like and Veronica stepped closer to try and break things up before it exploded completely in all of their faces.

In the midst of it all, Logan had a weird feeling and he glanced down at his eerily silent father. That was when he remembered that Aaron still had his own gun and it was pointed at an unnoticing Veronica.

"No you son of a bitch, no!" Logan was between them when the gunshot went off. The hassled stranger got spooked by the sudden sound and another couple of loud bangs went off.

"LOGAN!"

"ELI!"

Logan sank to his knees and observed calmly how Veronica ripped out Aaron's gun from his hands and threw it away across the parking lot. He was mildly interested in seeing Lily turning pale and grabbing Weevil, who'd begun to sink downwards like he had done himself just moments earlier.

"…love you Eli, you stupid idiot. The ambulance is gonna be here soon, please hang on."

 _It's much more fascinating to see someone get shot in real life_. The thought poured through Logan's oddly serene mind. He sighed and tasted blood in his mouth as he exhaled. "It doesn't hurt as much anymore…"

Veronica's arms grabbed his upper body and took the weight of it. Logan was immensely pleased to keep some dignity that way. _At least I won't go head down into the ground now._

Logan blinked and raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of scenery before him. The police and ambulance had arrived in the blink of an eye and were running towards him and the others.

Logan's eyes met his father's. Aaron looked pained and pale and Logan briefly hoped he wouldn't die, because now Logan could see the good thing in Veronica's earlier point of view of him going through life without his pride and joy.

"This has just been a _great_ day for you dad, hasn't it?"

Aaron's eyes glinted and if Logan didn't know any better he'd have sworn they showed signs of regret. _Too little too late…_

Logan leaned his head back into Veronica's collarbone and sighed again. Once more the coppery taste of blood distracted him momentarily, but then he muttered quietly to her. "I like you holding me this way – it's nice. Especially since you're not dead."

Veronica's voice sounded broken in his ear as she responded. "I'll hold you like this forever as long as you're gonna be okay. I'll drop your ass right now if you don't fight for your life."

"I'm tired Ronnie," Logan could barely make his mouth form the words now. He instinctively knew that he was running out of time _. I have to tell her about my feelings one more time before it's too late. No matter how lame it sounds_.

"I love you Veronica Mars…I'm sorry it had to go down like this."

Things turned blacker and blacker by the second. At the same time Logan felt his hearing increase and he wanted to cringe a bit when Veronica screamed for the paramedic's right by his ear. Lily's voice was frantic and loud as well as she called for help for Weevil. The stranger, who'd wanted nothing more than help out a supposed victim was crying out his innocence.

Logan pushed all those sounds away; he focused solely on Veronica's voice. "…love you and I won't lose you too!"

_I wish she didn't have to cry over me._

An annoying beeping sound crept into his consciousness and Logan groaned when a flood of pain swept over his body.

"…he's back – let's get him into surgery right now!"

The darkness returned and Logan blissfully welcomed it. When he came too again, he was hearing familiar voices around him. Unexpected, but familiar.

"...wake up any day now. Two gunshot wounds on top of a heck of a lot of trauma can tire out even the best of guys. Relax Dick, you'll get your surfing buddy back soon enough."

"Do you really think I care one butt load about that Beaver? _Moron_! He's my best friend and he has be okay again and…"

"…leave if you're gonna yell gentlemen!"

The voices disappeared and Logan ignored his tiny pinch of guilt over witnessing the Casablancas brothers fight over his condition of all things and let the darkness take him again.

"…Eli's being released tomorrow. It wasn't as bad as your wounds, but pretty bad enough in my humble opinion. Now I need you to wake up and tell me you don't approve of our relationship, so we can have a bitchfight just like old times." Logan felt a brush of warm lips on his cheek and heard a whispered, "please get well soon," before he gave up on trying to pay attention.

"Logan? I'm still here…Now I only need you. Please, I can't handle things without you." The pure desperation in _that_ voice finally gave Logan the push he needed and he struggled to wake up fully.

"…not alone." The words were a hassle to get through his lips, and he barely managed to utter them in more than a hoarse whisper, but she heard them and he felt her head snuggle into the crook of his neck.

"Thank you Logan." Veronica's relief was tangible even to Logan and he smirked before letting the sleep claim him again content in knowing that when he woke up, she'd be waiting for him.

_And if that's not motivation to get better, I don't know what is._

**0o0o0**

**TBC...**


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, wow, here we are again at the end of another story. Now, I have pretty much run out of old VM tales that I want to post for fresh eyes. I have tentative plans of writing more later. An au of the movie where I twist things perhaps, but I'm not sure...or something else will come to me - I've never written a fic centered on preggo teenage V now that I think about it...lol. We'll see...   
> Thanks for reading and keeping interest despite numerous errors etc.   
> I love you guys for the constructive (and not so) critisism that I've received. I hope to see you again whenever I manage another VM fic. In the meantime, feel free to check out my other work. I'm particularly proud of my Roswell fic and my Marvel one as well.   
> Will I see you there? :D

**EPILOGUE**

Veronica looked up at the clock on the wall with eager eyes. She had already packed her bag and tidied up herself - she even put on some make-up on for a change. It was bound to thrill Lily, who'd demanded that of her for as long as Veronica had known her. _Make-up is the ninth wonder of the world Ronnie...or something like that._

 _Aaaannd here it comes_ , Veronica thought with a satisfied smile and jumped up from her chair the moment the sound of a much awaited honking horn blared through the room.

She was out the door and running through the small living room a moment later.

"Whoa there Honey."

The words stopped her in mid-movement and Veronica smiled happily over at her father, who was sitting comfortably in his recliner having obviously just gotten out of bed. "Where's the fire?"

Veronica still couldn't quite believe that she was actually living with her dad again. After the whole shooting and kidnapping debacle with Aaron Echolls, she'd found out the truth about her mother and Jake Kane's marriage situation. As a result she'd promptly – along with Lily of course – blackmailed the billionaire and more importantly, her mother to give up her custody and give it to her fast recovering father.

 _And I couldn't be happier_. Veronica summed up internally. _Dad's getting better day by day and Duncan has actually been trying to repair our friendship. I'm having a_ _ **great**_ _relationship with Logan…"_

Another honk echoed through the apartment and Veronica smiled apologetically to her father, who immediately returned the smile. "Sorry dad, x-nay on the running in the house in the future, I got it. Logan and the others are picking me up for the field trip today – and I'm running a bit late, see you later, bye!"

Keith raised a hand and tilted his head in much the same way, Veronica herself used to do, and she stopped moving again, "Weren't you supposed to take a bus to the Stadium?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, but once Wallace told Lily that we were all going to Shark Stadium to meet Woody Goodman of all people, she decided to tag along since her college is supposedly dreadful and Weevil didn't wanna come, so she offered to drive us all…Or," Veronica added with a sheepish smile, "she practically demanded to do the honors." _And this way I won't have a nervous breakdown in the fast driving bus…_

Keith seemed to see through Veronica's explanation and come to the same conclusion as Lily apparently had and nodded. "Be good kid or I'll have to put on the big bad daddy hat."

Veronica smiled patronizingly. "Oh, if that doesn't secure my good girl behavior _nothing_ will. Bye dad."

Keith's "have fun," echoed behind her as she all but ran to the car waiting down in the parking lot.

"Hi, sorry I'm late!" she greeted Lily as she jumped in next to Logan on the backseat and kissed him like it hadn't been a mere hour since she'd seen him last.

"Chill with the P.D.A," Lily commanded sourly and drove away from the Mars residence. "My boo ain't coming until later and I'm going into withdrawal."

Wallace, who was sitting in the passenger's seat laughed as she continued with a flirtatious look in his direction. "But at least I always have my own personal smooch bag in case of emergencies, right Fennel?"

Veronica barely heard the exchange, way too busy with placing soft kisses along Logan's jaw line. Finally, she settled down and placed her head on his broad shoulder.

Sometimes she still got chills remembering how close she'd been to losing him. It had been a rough couple of months after he'd been released from the hospital and Aaron's trial had gone on. The good people of Neptune had had serious trouble sympathizing with Logan after he'd shot off his father's penis. Of course that was before all the evidence of Aaron's murderous tendencies had emerged.

Lynne Echolls had been a great help during those times. She'd had Veronica take mountains of pictures of her battered face and body after she'd regained consciousness. After the pictures had been published, Lynne had dug deep into her personal items and come out with loads of evidence of Logan's systematic abuse. Lily and Veronica had also witnessed at the stand about all the times they'd mended him after a particularly rough "discussion".

Veronica sighed as her thoughts drifted to the trial. Aaron had sat frozen with hatred blaring out of his eyes whenever he looked at her. As she'd recounted the events at the Echolls house and his following confession of Madison's murder, he'd jumped from his seat before anyone had been able to stop him and tried to get to her. It had been Veronica's lawyer, Cliff, who'd managed to take down the crazed actor with a swift punch in the stomach. Needless to say, the judge had sentenced Aaron to life in prison with no opportunity for parole.

"Hey babe, you okay?" Logan's whispered voice tore Veronica out of her reminiscing and she smiled sweetly up at him.

"Yeah, I've never been better actually."

Logan smirked happily and bent down to kiss her, but they were interrupted by Lily's cheerful voice. "Quit it you horn dogs, we're here!"

Veronica pouted in disappointment and watched with a twinkle in her eye as Logan reluctantly got out of the car. "You better hurry – the faster we get there, the sooner we can be on our way back."

Veronica nodded and quickly followed her boyfriend to meet Woody Goodman. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Lily making a beeline towards Weevil. _Hmm, apparently he can't stand the withdrawal for too long either…_

"Hey guys, mind if we sit near you? I'm too tired after cheerleading practice last night to even consider sitting next to Dick today."

The soft voice belonged to Meg and Veronica nodded with a smile. She sent a friendly wave to Meg's now almost eternal shadow, Duncan.

Duncan had completely let go of his anger towards Veronica – much to her relief. They'd even had a talk about it a few weeks after the kidnapping incident, where he'd apologized for his bitterness and dumb behavior. He'd gone on to trying to fix his broken friendship with Logan, who was in turn trying to let go of his own bitterness over Duncan's former way of being. And then a couple of months ago, right before the summer, Duncan had showed up in school with Meg firmly by his side.

Veronica couldn't be happier for them and she'd always liked the blonde cheerleader – despite her sometimes too cheery attitude.

A few moments after Duncan and Meg had made themselves comfortable next to Veronica and Logan; Woody Goodman stood forward and began talking.

"Phew, thank God that's over – how lame was that? I think my braincells got into a fight over who to kill themselves out of boredom first."

Lily's voice was obnoxiously loud and completely carefree; she didn't care one bit about the fact that Woody Goodman was within hearing range.

Veronica laughed and leaned up against Logan. "You know, Lils – _Technically_ you're not even supposed to be here. You could drive home and wait for us poor High Schooler's to arrive in the bus."

Lily scoffed and leaned up against her own boyfriend, who looked down at her with a soft smile on his lips. "As if? Who'd lighten things up around here, if it weren't for me? Now, come on – the party car is leaving."

"Wallace, are you coming?" Lily roared over her shoulder to the basketball player.

Veronica rolled her eyes when Wallace simply grinned and announced that he'd be taking the limo with Dick and his friends.

"Tell me again why they're suddenly taking a limo?" Veronica asked everybody.

Duncan of all people answered while he waited to be helped into the luxury car. "The bus stinks like rotten eggs and apparently," he raised his hands and made quotation marks, "rich people don't have to handle icky smells."

Logan laughed at the obvious Dickism and steered Veronica towards Lily's car. "That sounds like Dick's mantra of the day. See ya when we get there."

"Wait," Veronica stopped abruptly as she spotted Meg going into the yellow school bus. "Maybe I should take the bus…I mean, I have to try and drive at a normal speed more often – or so my shrink says."

Lily stepped up to her and placed her arm over Veronica's shoulder. "Look, forget about it and come with me. I'll even drive a bit faster. This way I can slow down if it gets too much for you to handle."

Veronica bit her lip in hesitation. _I really should go on the bus – the drive doesn't even take an hour and I have to learn to handle faster speeds sooner or later_. "Thanks, but no thanks, I'll take the bus. This way me and Meg can gossip about you all and she doesn't have to spend her time alone with the evil bitches she calls her cheerleader friends."

Lily sighed and unceremoniously threw her keys at Weevil. "Take my car home and we'll see you there. My friend ain't living through that ride without me."

"Yeah," Logan's voice added as he looked seriously down at Veronica. "I'm going too."

Veronica smiled and a few moments later, the trio made their way over to the bus.

"Yo dude!" Dick's voice called out just as Veronica stepped into the bus behind Logan. "It really stinks in there. I won't have my best bud and his foxy ladies ride in that thang!"

Veronica sighed and stepped back out reluctantly so Logan could walk over to his friend. Next to the oldest Casablancas brother, stood Beaver. He was watching the bus intently and Veronica frowned in confusion when she saw something dark glint in his eyes for a short second. Then he smiled sheepishly when his eyes landed on her and said, "Come on Veronica – drive with Lily or else I won't hear the end of it. I can't stand the thought of listening to Dick complaining all the way home."

"I guess you're right," Veronica amended with a sigh that had a bit of shameful relief in it too _. I'll try again tomorrow…_

Lily let out a happy squeal and she ran back to her car where Weevil stood with a bit of a desperate look on his face. Apparently, he hadn't quite managed to figure out how he could follow Lily's order and at the same time take his bike with him back to Neptune.

"Come on," Logan muttered in her hair and took her hand. "Let's go home. I seem to recall something about a rein check for a little one on one time."

Veronica grinned and allowed him to pull her lighter frame to the car. "Yeah, I think you're right about that."

Soon after they were all seated in Lily's car. Veronica snuggled up next to Logan and sighed happily. _Who knew an accident could wind up making me happy in the end? If it hadn't happened Logan would probably still have his on and off again relationship with Lily. I'd still be content with Duncan and mom and dad would still live unhappily together. This is better for all of us…_

"What are you thinking about Ronnie?" Lily's eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.

Veronica smirked. "That I'm perfectly content with my life right about now."

Lily and Logan laughed and agreed. Then their laughter stopped a moment later when they rounded a corner of the road and saw dark smoke coming up from the cliffs in the distance.

"Wonder what's happened?" Veronica asked curiously and leaned forward.

Lily shrugged and Logan answered tightening his grip around Veronica. "I don't know, probably some kind of accident…"

**0o0o0**

**THE END...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously considered letting V on the bus...but figured you'd track me down and kill me if I ended up putting her through more hell;) sometime in the (distant-VERY DISTANT-) future I might write a "second season".


End file.
